It is now evident across multiple design possibilities, that the block is an element linked to the city and, at the same time, to the condition of living, assuming a double urban and architectural dimension.
It is the urban space where on the one hand, individual interests and collective accommodation needs of a particular model of society, cohabit and are harmonized, the common building and the singular, the built and the natural, the private area of housing and public the city, among others. On the other hand, is an element which relates to the large urban scale, to the extent that may result from the urban layout drawing, becoming usually an element of large morphological diversity, or that can be assumed as a basic unit of composition presenting in this case a more regular shape.
Morphologically, the block is the urban element that best reflects the dynamics of change and transformation of the city urban fabric. The block has proven repeatedly to be able to adapt various types of buildings and adapt to changing urban and architectural models developed over time, so it is used as a common denominator in city design. It is therefore a space determined by the combination of several times where the elements that constitute it build their own history coexist at different speeds. Each plot has a separate and distinct time of those close to it, and is its disjointed movement in time, densification, the renovation of the building, aggregation or segmentation plots, as well as the actual change in the nature between the public and private that constitutes its clearest expression.
Typologically, there are many ways to organize and build a block, internally and externally, but the most interesting in this element is the possibility of articulating spaces full and empty, mediating the transition between open and closed areas, public and private.
