Unidad Vecinal 3: Understanding Care and Maintenance in Social Housing

'Cultures of Maintenance’ research project addresses the gap between cultural practices of upkeeping European postwar housing buildings and the balance between institutional and informal maintenance. ‘Unidad Vecinal 3’, a housing complex designed by Antonio Corrales in 1967 in A Coruña (Spain), contributes to the research discussion on the localised performance and formats of care from the maintenance practices viewpoint. <br/>Promoted by Obra Sindical del Hogar, the project aimed to tackle the housing shortage with 400 family dwellings (approximately 2,000 residents) and 45,000 built sqm in the disconnected outskirts of the city. Today, ‘Unidad Vecinal 3’ condition is inconsistent, reflecting conflicts and contradictions due to varying ownership and maintenance decisions between institutions and residents. This contribution identifies existing examples of caring and maintenance practices carried out by owners and administrations at different scales and with different impacts, in spaces of both private and public ownership, identifying challenges, failures and successes. Interviews with residents and media become fundamental in revealing the distinctive maintenance solutions, formal and informal design details, and decision-making processes. <br/>‘Unidad Vecinal 3’ particularities contribute to the discussion on the understanding of social housing as a cultural contextual positioning, and the role of ownership in maintaining, caring and prolonging the life of existing social housing estates and their communities.