Para-architecture against gentrification

Abstract

PART 1 – INTRODUCTION: Starting from a personal fascination with street art and the rebellious spirit of para-architecture, this part introduces Lavapiés as a neighbourhood where gentrification is slowly tipping the balance against the community. From this tension emerges the central objective: to explore how para-architecture can add weight to the community side of that balance. PART 2 – APPROACH: Drawing on Michel Serres' theory of the parasite, a framework is developed that traces how squatting practices move from parasitic to symbiotic, and eventually risk becoming fossilised by the very gentrification they set out to resist. This framework then becomes the analytical lens through which Lavapiés and its okupas are understood. PART 3 – PRECEDENTS: A series of reference projects from self-managed community gardens to parasitic blister structures are examined for what they reveal about temporality, self-management, and unconventional spatial activation. Together they form an incomplete but instructive catalogue that will directly inform the design agenda. PART 4 – DESIGN AGENDA: A week of fieldwork in Madrid reveals the striking contrast between touristified main streets and quieter, more intimate side streets, ultimately pointing towards a specific cluster of vacant plots as the project site. Six design positions crystallise from this research, outlining the spatial, programmatic and social principles for the cultural space. PART 5 – DESIGN PROGRESS: Through a chronological series of sketches, models and diagrams, the design evolves from a bridge weaving through rooftops to three distinct architectural acts, each with a clearer identity and purpose. This iterative process of research by design is what ultimately produces and justifies the final design agenda. PART 6 – FINAL PRODUCT: The cultural space is realised in three acts: a parasitic guerrilla gardening shed, a symbiotic collective space for community associations, and a flexible performance patio that leaves a fossilic imprint on the neighbourhood. Together they form a temporary, self-managed, and community-driven counter to gentrification in Lavapiés. PART 7 – IN RETROSPECT: Looking back, the three acts are evaluated against the design agenda, with the gardening shed and performance patio standing out as the most convincingly unconventional. The part closes by addressing the uncomfortable question of whether any intervention at all risks accelerating gentrification, and why doing nothing is ultimately not the answer either.