the architects determined to make Spanish cities beautiful again

The location, the region, almost not even the type of city matters. Whether you are in Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Vigo or Jerez de la Frontera, the most likely thing is that if you take a walk through the streets of the center you will find the same image: asymmetrical facadesirregular, full of holes and patches. They have not been designed like this nor are they the work of any eccentric architect. This apparent aesthetic incoherence is the result of decades of arbitrary enclosures by apartment owners.

The logic is simple: you have a terrace that doesn’t quite convince you, so you choose to fence it. The problem is that you do it on your own, without agreeing with the rest of the neighbors, and in the end the facades end up becoming an architectural pastiche. And with them (in addition) the set of cities.

The phenomenon is frequent enough that there are people commenting on it on networks and specialized forums in urban planning: ‘Tetris-style’ enclosures are rampant in Spanish cities. The images may change from one location to another, but a walk through any urban area usually comes to find facades altered without rhyme or reason.

Here is an untouched terrace. There is another one closed with aluminum carpentry and translucent glass. Two floors below, another that has opted for wood and an awning.

Much more than facades

Do they pose a problem? They are certainly cause for debate.

First, because of its regulatory framework. Is it legal for each owner to do what they want with their terrace, without taking into account the rest of the community? What steps should you take if you want to do it correctly? Second, because beyond the block in question, the amalgams of enclosures influence something much more important: the urban landscapearchitectural coherence and visual hygiene, values ​​that are usually very careful in sensitive areassuch as historic centers and protected buildingsbut which are often neglected in the rest of the city.

One of the voices that has commented the most on the phenomenon of indiscriminate closures is the X account @MadridProyecta, which has warned about “‘Zero zones’ of lack of control” either flagrant cases in which they have completely distorted the original appearance of the properties. This phenomenon leads them to warn of the “vertical shanty town”a problem that does not occur homogeneously throughout the Spanish geography (it is less frequent on the Cantabrian coast, for example), but it does condition the urban reality of the country’s cities.

“It has a serious impact on the urban landscape of Spain,” they acknowledge from Madrid Proyecta before remembering that in other latitudes of Spain it is less common to encounter indiscriminate closures.

The reason? In addition to the regulatory framework of each country and cultural differences, there is another fundamental factor that comes into play, recalls María José Peñalver, treasurer of the Superior Council of the Colleges of Architects of Spain (CSCAE): the antiquity of the building stock and its maintenance.

In 2023 the National Federation of Real Estate Associations analyzed the country’s constructions and estimated that the average age of the used housing stock in Spain around 43.5 years oldwhich among other issues explains why two of the problems that were most frequently pointed out are the scarcity of outdoor space and the poor insulation thermal. Both issues are closely related to enclosures, which They are usually carried out precisely to gain square meters or improve the comfort and soundproofing of homes.

That a good part of the homes in Spain are over 40 years old It is a relevant fact because they were built before the regulations on thermal conditions were applied. According to the INE, nearly 40% of the buildings that were used for housing in 2011 had been built between the 60s and 80s. It is not a problem exclusive to Spain (85% of the blocks of the EU were built before 2000 and many of them have low energy performance), but it is a relevant fact when analyzing the phenomenon of enclosures in cities.

Another key aspect is the regulatory framework. A quick search on the Internet turns up a good number of guides and articles that try to clarify whether or not it is legal to close a terrace and what requirements must be met to do so, which gives an idea of ​​the high interest that the topic arouses. The simplest answer is: depends. It depends on the peculiarities of each case, what you want to do and, above all, what the community has decided before.

The explanation must be sought in the law of laws regarding coexistence in buildings: the Horizontal Property Law (LPH), which in its seventh article sends a notice to sailors: “The owner of each apartment or premises may modify the architectural elements (…) when it does not undermine or alter the safety of the building, its structure, configuration or external state“.

Closing a terrace can directly affect the exterior of the property and alter the façade. Furthermore, as remember Idealistalthough the terraces are for private enjoyment, many of their parts, such as the roof or coatings, are part of the common elements. In the article 10.3 and 17.4 of the LPH, in fact, it is recalled that one of the actions that must have authorization are closures, subject to the approval of three-fifths of the community.

“The LPH considers that closing a balcony represents an alteration of the façade, being a common element that conditions the overall image of the building. To make a change of such magnitude it is necessary to obtain the consent of the community, so it is not a strictly personal decision,” comment the architect and urban planner Albert Nogueras in elDiario, where he recalls the need to also keep municipal ordinances in mind (which may vary from one city council to another), and the statutes approved by the community itself.

The guides Regarding closures, they remind us of the importance of analyzing all the factors that come into play, including whether there are precedents within the building or whether the work would entail an increase in the constructed area, something that can affect to the license. The truth is that the issue has generated disparity of opinions within the courts themselves. It was recently popular a case from Andalusia in which a neighbor closed his terrace with a “Lumon-type” glass system without the community’s permission. The owners filed a complaint and the issue led to a lawsuit.

A court in Marbella gave the reason to the neighbor considering that the closure did not affect the image nor was it prohibited in the statutes, but when the matter reached the Provincial Court the magistrates adopted a contrary criterion and ruled that the work had altered a common element, ordering that it be dismantled. And that’s not the only one jurisprudence on enclosures.

Communities… and cities

They intervene in the enclosures two plans. One (regulated by the LPH) is the one that has to do with coexistence and coordination within the community of neighbors. Another, no less important, affects the building as part of a larger whole: the urban fabric. If in the first case the lack of consensus leads to tensions or legal problems, in the second, Peñalver warns, the urban landscape is at stake. The lack of consensus in this case is equivalent to “pastiche” blocks, facades treated with “contempt” that renounce a harmonious aesthetic.

“Housing must adapt to needs and these change, but many wrong actions can be committed,” adds the treasurer of the CSCAE, who advocates resorting to experts and remembers that good maintenance of a façade involves both taking care of its “efficiency” and “aesthetics.” “When you have a building that has not been adequately maintained, intervening without taking into account technical considerations seems the easiest thing to do,” he warns. In any case, Peñalver recognizes that we are on “the right path.”

What is the solution? From the sector they remember the usefulness of master plans and façade intervention projects, tools that help establish consensus on seemingly simple details such as the side on which air conditioning compressors should be installed. The objective is simple: for Spain to be full of cities in which it seems to apply a double standardwith historic centers and buildings rigorously protected on one side and peri-urban environments, far from the center, where chaos reigns.

“We govern for those who visit us,” says Madrid Proyecta ironically, pointing to the zeal applied in urban areas that want to become more “presentable” for visitors. At stake is not only “visual cleanliness”. The group warns of the importance of acting with judgment regarding one’s own homes.

In the end, an enclosure may gain a handful of square meters for the living room (something not insignificant with the escalating prices), but it can be expensive if it is done with solutions that end up turning it into a “greenhouse”.

Images | Madrid Proyecta (Toninowilde, Estudio Lamela) and Google Earth

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