Abrera House, Barcelona / by Luis de Garrido

Project description of Abrera House, Barcelona by Luis de Garrido:
1. Most Important Goals
– Designing a home low budget for a young couple.
– Designing a home that allows a high degree of self.
– Designing a home of bioclimatic high, despite the misdirection of scarce buildable area of the site.
– Design a green roof passable low-cost, low maintenance, recovery and treatment of rainwater.

2. Architectural Solution
The buildable area of the site only has 200 m2, and has a longitudinally irregular north-south. It is therefore very difficult to design a house, and even more, a bioclimatic house you can get the maximum solar radiation in winter.

Since there may be a broad front to the south, it was decided to divide the house into three pieces and arrange them as separate stages. Thus, direct solar radiation south can access each of the three parties, naturally illuminating every corner of the house, and greenhouse warming. This solution also enables not have holes to the west, keeping the house is hot in summer.

The three parts into which the housing is divided as follows: living room area (living room / kitchen), bedroom area and master bedroom (can bathroom and study.)

In the articulation of the living area with sleeping area has provided the main access to housing through a glass walkway that runs on an artificial lake. This thing works on the soft drink in summer housing.

3. Sustainable Analysis

1. Resource Optimization

1.1. Natural Resources. Are maximized resources such as sunlight (for home heating), the wind, water and earth (to cool the housing), rain water (for watering the garden and flushing toilets), …. .

1.2. Manufactured resources. The materials used are maximized, thus avoiding the maximum possible waste through proper project and effective management. On the other hand, housing is designed so that users themselves can build more than half of its components, with little supporting resources.

1.3. Resources recovered, reused and recycled.
The vast majority of housing materials may be recoverable. On the other hand, has promoted the use of recycled and recyclable materials.

2. Decreased energy consumption

2.1. Construction.
The house was built with minimal energy consumption. The materials used are manufactured with minimal energy. On the other hand, housing has been built with little supporting resources, and with very little labor, since the owners have occupied 50% of the necessary work.

2.2. Use
Due to its characteristics bioclimatic housing has a very low energy consumption standard. The house is heated by the greenhouse effect, a fireplace biomass (waste on the environment), and electric batteries to your nightly rate. The hot water is generated by two thermal solar collectors.

The fact that the house is fully insulated bioclimatic and makes electric heat is the best option. When using the night rate, the economic cost is reduced by half. Being a bioclimatic house, back down to more than half. And there are costs deduct what the conventional heating facilities, plus the cost of the floor area required.

2.3. Dismantling
The vast majority of materials used can be recovered easily (once the life of the building) to be reused on another building.

3. Using alternative energy sources
The energy used is of two types: Solar Thermal (two solar collectors for the ACS, and evaporation of water to air cooling) and geothermal (air refresher system taking advantage of low temperatures existing underground, in the galleries below slab health of the housing). The house is partially buried, so that its temperature tends to remain stable throughout the year.

4. Reduction of waste and emissions
Housing does not generate any waste or emissions (except the chimney generates biomass, on the few occasions that their use is necessary), and does not generate any waste, except organic.

5. Improving health and wellbeing
All materials used are environmentally friendly and healthy, and do not have any programs that might affect human health. Similarly, the house is naturally ventilated, and maximizes natural light (no artificial lighting can be used as long as natural lighting) creating a healthy environment and provides the best possible quality of life for building occupants .

6. Reduced price of the building and maintenance
The house is designed in a rational manner, eliminating redundant items, unnecessary, or free, allowing construction to a greatly reduced price, despite the ecological equipment incorporated.

4. Bioclimatic characteristics

1.1. Heat Generation Systems
The house is heated by itself, in two ways: 1. Avoiding cool: Due to its high thermal insulation, and having the glass surfaces just south and east, and none to the north. 2. due to its careful and special bioclimatic design. Greenhouse is heated, direct solar radiation and electric batteries to your nightly rate.

1.2. Fresh Generation Systems
Housing cools itself in three ways: 1. Avoiding hot, glazed surfaces having only south and east, just west; disposing of sunscreens for the direct and indirect solar radiation, and providing adequate insulation. 2. Cooling by air cooling system using an artificial lake and underground channels. The fact that housing is partially buried enables the temperature tends to remain consistent throughout the year. 3. Evacuating the hot air outside the house, through a solar chimney and natural convection.

1.3. Storage systems (heat or cool)
The heat generated during the day in winter (greenhouse effect, direct solar radiation through the chimney of biomass) accumulates on the floors and interior load-bearing walls of high thermal inertia. Thus the house stays warm all night, with little energy.
Generated during the cool summer night (for natural ventilation due to lower temperatures outside) accumulates in the floors and interior load-bearing walls of high thermal inertia. Thus the housing remains fresh throughout the day without any energy consumption.

1.4. Transfer systems (heat or cool).
The heat generated by natural radiation emissions and is distributed throughout the home, due to staggered up.
The cool air generated in the underground galleries for the housing is divided by a set of grids spread over the floors.

1.5. Natural ventilation
The ventilation of the building is continuously and naturally through the very walls surround, allowing adequate ventilation without energy loss. This type of ventilation is possible as all materials are breathable (ceramic, lime-cement mortar, paint silicates), although the whole performance has a completely waterproof.

5. Organic materials

1. Foundation and structure.
Wall of two leaves. The inner blade is the load-bearing brick wall perforated 28 cm. thickness (with high thermal inertia). The blade is hollow brick exterior of 7 cm. Inside the double sheet is a layer of hemp insulation 5 cm. and a ventilated air space of 3 cm. (In some parts of the front outer blade is made out of birch plywood panels of 13 mm. Arranged by battens, including an insulating layer of hemp than 5 cm, and a ventilated air space of 2 cm. ) Forged semiviguetas prestressed and concrete slabs.

2. Exterior finishes
Silicate paint. Birch plywood treated with vegetable oils.

3. Interior finishes
Vegetable paintings. Floors of porcelain stoneware tiles. Double panel doors plywood, beech plywood, and treated with vegetable oils.

4. Cover
Roof garden, with an average thickness of 25 cm. ground.

5. Other
Polypropylene water pipes. Polyethylene drainage pipes. Energy-efficient appliances. Pine woodwork treated with vegetable oils. Cotton canvas awnings. Sunscreens solid pine wood, treated with vegetable oils.

6. Outstanding innovations

– Conduct a home with a high degree of self. The homeowners have been more than 50% of the necessary work.

– Designing a home with tiered architectural structure, allowing excellent bioclimatic behavior, even though, under compulsion, must have a north-south longitudinal way, completely opposite to what is appropriate.

– Integrate an artificial lake at the bottom of the housing, allowing a natural refresher.