Hubitat
Vanessa Fernández & Cristina Cabanelas
We buy apartments and live in houses where our neighbors are a lottery. Generally, our housing context and the people around us depend on the decisions of third parties (promoters, real estate agents, banks, etc.) and their interests. Although these models work and have worked for many years, we believe that this alternative allows us to take control of our housing situation, from the choice of our community to usability and design decisions, allowing us to create buildings and relationships that are sustainable over time.
Hubitat is a meeting point –a hub– for co-housing that publicises the model, it promotes an ethical housing alternative and connects people interested in building a community that shares the same housing expectations and values. Through the different communication channels, Hubitat aims to re-imagine how we live, the function we give to spaces, the interpersonal relationships with our neighbour’s, the environmental impact of our habits and, ultimately, our day to day. This hub is born from questioning the standardized dynamics of living and the desire to broaden the spectrum of alternatives.
On the website you can find information about the model and tools and steps to follow for the different agents who seek to participate in the initiatives of this model. It’s portrayed as a storytelling to boost and synthesise the information. The format is horizontal referencing the democratic dynamics maintained by the partners on a co habited space.
Hubitat gives away an editorial publication made with recycled materials that presents cultural content of interest, news, articles and interviews related to co-housing and sustainability. This editorial encompasses the values and principles of the cooperative housing model and its community.
The same way they promote a rethinking of housing models, they are also interested in rethinking the use of furniture with collaborations with furniture designers and industrial engineers. This first collaboration comes to life with Curro Claret and “La Pieza” T-300. “La Pieza” is conceived as a starting point, to explore various new uses, not only for the construction of furniture, but also to make the people think when they interact with the piece, what needs and desires they have and then think what they can end up with making.
