This is a new social housing build on an elongated site in the district of Sants-Montjüic in Barcelona, in a rather rundown urban setting that is undergoing regeneration. Opposite the building is a school playground of an intense earthy colour. One of the earliest decisions was to override the corner alignment and withdraw the façade, partly to enable the new building to adapt to existing construction. Another decision was to give the façade a personality of its own, making the building a new reference in these colourless surroundings.