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| Acciona to develop Spain's first zero-emission residential complex Promusa (the Sant Cugat municipal housing development corporation), Acciona and Vicente Guallart (Director of the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia and of Guallart Architects) signed an agreement to explore the development of Spain's first zero-emission residential complex. Comprising 150 rental homes, the complex will be located in this Catalonian city, between Arnau de Vilanova, Josep Trueta, Guadalajara and Asturias streets. The complex will be the first zero-emissions project of its type; it will be self-sufficient in energy thanks to a combination of energy saving and efficiency measures plus generation of clean energy, thus avoiding CO2 emissions. Under the agreement, Promusa, Acciona and Vicente Guallart will draw up the technical design of the project over the next three months. Promusa will then decide whether it is economically viable. If Promusa decides to go ahead, the design will be drafted and the construction contract will be awarded by public tender. It is estimated that the building's energy consumption can be cut by 30%-50%. The houses will be fitted with the most advanced sustainable climate control and lighting systems, and the complex will use biomass to produce heat, cold and electricity in pursuit of the goal of zero emissions. The building will be heated with radiant floor heating, enabling the use of air conditioning as a standard in summer without impairing the final emissions levels. Electricity production will be adjusted to match the building's demand; the building will also be fitted with solar photovoltaic panels that blend into the building and the surroundings. The project envisages an advanced control and billing system to encourage energy saving. The energy-efficient design will be based on applying rigorous sustainability parameters, optimising lagging in line with the local climate, and using a low-temperature heat distribution system and high-performance centralised systems. The design envisages using locally-sourced biomass, which will provide a high level of self-sufficiency. There are also plans to work with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on advanced domotics systems; MIT has designated Sant Cugat as a location for developing pilot implementations of its main projects. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Construction News :: home page |