About this project
Show list of needs
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Minimum | Optimum |
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Design and organization of auto-construction workshops
We need to design and build the necessary documents to allow the integration of all citizens in the construction and guarantee nice and safe conditions.
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£ 842 | |
Construcion start celebration
Exhibition design and preparation to celebrate the project development and stages of the building process. Everbody in the organization, entities involved and field masters who have helped with their high knowdledge will take part in the event.
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£ 421 |
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Minimum | Optimum |
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Infrastructure
The City Council of Barcelona demands to our organization to cover the construction expenses, license, work insurance and the implementation of activities. We also should have a initial basis budget to take over the water and electricity consumption expenses
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£ 842 | |
Kitchen construction
It would be really useful to have kitchen equipment so we will be able to satisfy with food to all the people who collaborate in the construction.
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£ 421 |
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Minimum | Optimum |
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Construction tools and auxiliary elements
We have to provide the basic tools to the workers in order to let them collaborate, including gloves, helmets, trowels or baskets, to name a few. We will also need to assure the auxiliaries supplies such as drillers and scaffoldings.
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£ 1,683 | |
Transport costs and material displacement
It is easy for everybody to get to the construction area in Barcelona’s old town. However, it is quite difficult to bring the material aid into the building zone because the access is limited and so is the time and area to unload it. Also, we are willing to convert this project into a new divulgation activity to publish the transportation costs and introduce alternative solutions with less environmental impact but more human resources.
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£ 842 | |
Totaal | £ 3,367 | £ 5,050 |
General information
We have created a collective design process, which has integrated the variable and free cooperation of passionate and qualified specialists. We are going to construct a building in the same way: collectively and according to the capabilities and free availability of each person who wants to participate. We will build a 90m2 polyvalent space created with healthy materials such as straw, clay, hemp, cane and lime...Just in Barcelona’s city center!!
We face this project with passion to make real a collective innovation challenge. We want to show to the citizens and the whole world it is possible to auto-build in the old town area with natural materials that we will be able to use in the future as compost.
The construction is open to the public and it is expected to last a year (approx.). Once we finish it, it will allow the usage to everybody who wants to meet people, mingle with specialists and finally learn and support each other to grow up in a healthier and fairer environment. The building is located next to many other important and cultural buildings like MACBA, the CCCB or the Geography School.
Belangrijkste kenmerken
Auto-build a building with natural materials in the centre of Barcelona. Txema’s space will be used for training, research and promotion of healthy building practices and activities in the Mediterranean area. We are willing to create a meeting and exchange space to enable the learning and promotion of the participant’s capabilities and innovative communication systems. This project and the construction retrieves the social purpose of the construction act. Everybody interested will be able to have access to the project information.




Waarom is dit belangrijk
The main motivation is the creation of a healthy building in the centre of the city, so we can show to the community there are many different types of construction and ways of living, also in the city center. We want to demonstrate there are solutions to face the actual economic crisis we are living nowadays. If we want to do that, it is necessary to create new spaces of collective construction created with contributions from several sectors and people, but everybody sharing the dream to create and grow up in healthier places plenty of opportunities and resources, without creating any prejudice to the future generations and / or public sectors.

Doelen van de crowdfunding campagne
• Experiment and collect technical data of the usage materials like straw, clay, hemp...
• Train experts and citizens healthy construction training.
• Promote technological innovation and citizens teamwork ability.
• Design an space - sample – example of good practices in social and environmental impacts of construction transformation.
• Create meeting spaces and knowledge exchange between professionals from different fields and citizens.
• Teach knowledge about healthy materials usage.
• Create spaces for exhibitions and discussions of participation activities for citizens in group projects.
• Support small and/or specialists committed to healthy building.

Team en ervaring
The project began leaded by the volunteers from BaM-Bioarquitectura Mediterranean Association, driven by a bio-construction pioneering architect names. One of them is V. Maini, who is specialized in straw construction and passionate to develop “imposible” projects. Then, E. Silvestre, a genetic researcher biologist and pioneer in biohabitabilitat and connection between architecture and environmental condition studies. Also, T. Solanas, a professional architect with a really wide experience. He is currently involved in the construction of discussion places and collective support between institutional and informal like the AUS group (architecture and sustainability) or the cooperative J. Capell's, which is an association of architects. This union has encouraged and made possible the organization of training activities including workshops, conferences, exhibitions and procedures to make widely known good practices and knowledge about architecture and health. This group also wanted to open up the project we are presenting to other entities and technical stakeholders. More than 20 professionals and activists are committed with the project. Moreover, we have the support of many organizations like Barcelona Permaculture , Research Canyera , Sitesize , COAC Barcelona and companies offering materials such as Slow -House (ground), Casaspasivas ( straw) Hempsystem ( hemp ) , Olab -Labs ( digital manufacturing). We have already succeeded using the process BioBu (L) to overcome barriers of topics between "families" and creating the right conditions for groups and individuals who are not used to work together and encourage them to develop and support a project as a team. During the transition of the project and construction phase we suffered the lost of our friend Txema, an amazing partner who made us realize the value of every member of the team. We decided to rename the project in his and his family honour to thank him for showing us the importance of dreaming, working and struggle to reach our dreams.

Social commitment

Climate action
Shared materials
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experimentation and practice space
In the city center, very accessible by walk, but not with transportation is offered the opportunity to know, play, learn to build with natural materials and have healthier offer and eco-friendly solutions for small and big works. -
New ways to build and work support
The full process is documented and published on the web. Thanks to the interaction of people, companies, organizations and people knowledge we can make small trials-test and follow-up documents of this innovative work that will allow the community of experts and citizens have less problems to use different and new materials and techniques. All drawings and reports projects will be an available documentation.CC - Attribution - NonCommercial - ShareAlike
Creative Commons License with attribution, that does not allow commercial use, and only allows sharing under identical licensing conditions -
Room and space activities
Once the construction phase is ended, we will have an available space for activities to the community. Approx 60m2 indoor and 150 m2 outdoors for meetings, lectures, training courses, exhibitions and social events proposed by citizens. The promoters of the project have a lot of different training activities, discussion and education that they want to offer in Txema space. -
Accessibility to healthy solutions
The space we are going to build will be a space for citizens, where you can find materials and technical solutions exhibition and where you also can evaluate and consider greener alternatives for building. We also want the space to give information and contacts of different companies or material distributors, to everybody who wants easily to find healthier alternatives.