Like bees in a hive: micro-housing project in Barcelona sparks outrage

A company in Barcelona faces severe criticism for a project that aims to provide housing for low-income workers consisting of 2.64 square meters rooms, packed in an apartment with a communal kitchen, bathroom, and living room.

Haibu 4.0 draws inspiration from Japan both for its name (meaning hive) and the capsule-like rooms, offered to tourists by some of the country’s hotels.

The start-up plans to create a dozen "hive" apartments by the end of the year, thus providing housing to 400-500 people, despite warnings from the local council and Catalan government that the initiative is illegal, and does not meet housing standards.

"We can’t wait for the government to find a license tailor-made for us," said Marc Olivé, the manager of Haibu 4.0.  "We’ll keep on going, and whenever a judge says anything, we’ll comply."