Walden 7 is an

apartment building An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ...

Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura (RBTA) is a architecture firm that was founded in 1963 by Ricardo Bofill, initially as Taller de Arquitectura ("Architecture Workshop" in Spanish). It is headquartered in Sant Just Desvern near Barcelona, in ...

and located in

Sant Just Desvern Sant Just Desvern (; ) is a town near Barcelona, in the ''comarca'' of the Baix Llobregat, Catalonia, Spain. Sant Just Desvern is located in the 2,078317º of longitude and 41,381611º of latitude. It is situated at 122 m (average) above se ...

near

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It was built in 1975.

Name

The name of the building is inspired by

B. F. Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social philosopher. He was a professor of psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974. ...

's novel, ''

Walden Two ''Walden Two'' is a utopian novel written by behavioral psychologist B. F. Skinner, first published in 1948. In its time, it could have been considered science fiction, since science-based methods for altering people's behavior did not yet exis ...

'', which depicts a

utopian A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', describing a fictional island society ...

community and itself is a reference to

Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural su ...

's novel ''

Walden ''Walden'' (; first published in 1854 as ''Walden; or, Life in the Woods'') is a book by American transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau. The text is a reflection upon the author's simple living in natural surroundings. The work is part ...

''. It is noted for its use of modules to create apartments and many public community spaces.

Structure and usage

The original project includes 446 residences. With a

budget A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environmenta ...

lower than the norm for subsidized housing at the time, Walden 7 was built in the area to the west of Barcelona. It was originally designed as one of five similar blocks. The building is composed of 18 towers which are displaced from their base, forming a curve and coming into contact with the neighbouring towers, described as a "vertical labyrinth with seven interconnecting interior courtyards." The area originally devoted to communal uses was reduced to allow an increased number of

apartments An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are man ...

. These apartments are formed on the basis of one or more modules, which creates, on different levels, dwellings that range from single-module studios to large multiple-module apartments. Partitions between modules may be modified, designed to shift as family structures shift. Walden 7 was designed with small, uniform windows and no central heating. Its original design included a bath in the middle of the room, which most residents removed. The original exterior façade was covered with small, red ceramic tiles backed with the wrong adhesive, creating a pedestrian hazard as the tiles fell off the building., The local government began repairing the structure in the 1990s, and a 1995 refurbishment removed most of the tiles and replaced them with red paint. The only remaining tiles exist on the small balconies. The interior is painted in blue, purple, and yellow. It is accessible by tram; the stop near the building is called ''Walden''. Although the building is a private apartment complex, it offers public tours.

Reception

Walden 7 became instantly iconic and made the cover of the prestigious ''

Architectural Design Building design refers to the broadly based architectural, engineering and technical applications to the design of buildings. All building projects require the services of a building designer, typically a licensed architect. Smaller, less complic ...

'' magazine in July 1975. In an article for ''

Architectural Digest ''Architectural Digest'' is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920. Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast, which also publishes internati ...

'', architectural historian

Vincent Scully Vincent Joseph Scully Jr. (August 21, 1920 – November 30, 2017) was an American art historian who was a Sterling Professor of the History of Art in Architecture at Yale University, and the author of several books on the subject. Architect Phil ...

described Walden 7 as "a wildly expressionistic apartment house, part Gaudí, part Archigram."

In popular culture

In the 1993 film ''

The Bilingual Lover ''The Bilingual Lover'' ( es, El Amante Bilingüe) is a 1993 Spanish film, written and directed by Vicente Aranda and adapted from a novel by Juan Marsé. The film stars Imanol Arias, Ornella Muti and Loles León. The film is a grotesque drama, wi ...

'', two characters live in Walden 7. The falling tiles are mentioned.

Gallery

Notes

External links

ArchDaily

Official website

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1975 establishments in Spain Ricardo Bofill buildings Buildings and structures in Catalonia Modernist architecture in Barcelona Postmodern architecture Apartment buildings in Spain