Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design. Moscow.
Friday 17th of May 2013 09:35:08 AM Thursday 16th of May 2013 09:35:06 AM
The NATURAPARK eco-sustainable residential complex
Madrid - Spain
J. Touza y Asociados Sl, D. Julio Touza Rodriguez - Edilizia residenziale
Taxos Extreme Active, Quarzite Ceniza Extreme Active : 1363 mq (ca.)
The project covers 15 houses: it includes green spaces, an arboured walkway, solar panels, shared swimming pool, lawn with local plants and low water consumption, trees and shrubs which match the environment and the surrounding world. This extends the concept of eco-sustainability from the buildings to the shared green spaces, which are irrigated with rainwater run-off, supplemented by recycled grey water.
The main objective is to create sustainable apartments which interpret bioclimatic concepts from the very start of the design process. This is obtained by developing a rational layout of apartments in a compact block composed of a ground floor plus 4 storeys oriented completely to the south, with continuous terraces. This element curves back on itself as a formal element of the project, inside an abstract, rationalist architecture which highlights its formal tensions by suspending the volumes.
The work done to achieve maximum energy efficiency includes attention to the orientation of the building to the south, with continuous terraces acting as a barrier to shade the facade during the summer, while allowing direct sunlight during the winter; the disposition of the spaces is that of a day zone facing south, with a night zone facing north, to exploit natural sunlight to the maximum; a curtain wall system is used (the heat absorbed by the outer layer is dissipated by a flue ventilation effect) and all possible thermal bridges have been eliminated, so as to guarantee the quality of the thermal shell by applying such passive systems.
The building is designed to fully exploit the layout of empty spaces, so as to have very few openings to the north and none/very few to the west, to prevent heat dispersion; the radiant underfloor heating system increases energy savings and more uniform heating; solar panel - both thermal and photovoltaic - have been installed, with the option of integrating them into the facade; a water recycling system was chosen which uses a storage tank to collect rainwater for irrigating the gardens; eco-compatible materials, without polluting emissions, will be used, with low production and transport energy costs, long service life, low maintenance and recyclability being key criteria. The Active materials contribute in this case to reducing the polluting agents present in the atmosphere.
