The Balearic Islands have developed a unique ecosystem of research and significant architectural production in sustainable social housing. It is no coincidence that numerous proposals position the Balearic Islands as a benchmark in the development of social housing under the premise of sustainability.
By seeking to create ambitious and sustainable social housing on multiple levels, the use of local materials, the ingenious use of Posidonia as insulation, the use of reused or local wood and stone, and the collaboration with local artisans, combined with architectural solutions that respond to the climate and reduce energy demand, have positioned their work as an example for the social housing construction process.
At a time when housing is in the spotlight, a sustainable, innovative and daring approach to social housing must be highlighted, which facilitates a collective perspective and directs us as a society towards a kinder and more conscious city.
From METALOCUS we have selected 12 Social Housing projects in the Balearic Islands that exemplarily illustrate the different forms of intervention in the territory, with the aim of facilitating access to housing in a sustainable and conscious way illustrated through the eyes of different architectural studios and architects: the team of IBAVI, Javier de las Heras Solé, Peris+Toral Arquitectes, Ripoll Tizón, Lloc Arquitectes, Carles Oliver Barceló, Antonio Martín Procopio, Joaquín Moyá Costa, Alfonso Reina Ferragut, Maria Antònia Garcías Roig, Joan Josep Fortuny Giró y Alventosa Morell Arquitectes, studi08014, Oliveras Boix Arquitectes, Cati Mestre, Carles Enrich Studio.
The project of 8 public housing homes developed and built by the IBAVI team (Balearic Institute of Housing) led by architects Carles Oliver, Joaquín Moyá, Antonio Martín, Alfonso Reina and Miguel A. Rodríguez, is located north of the city of Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
It proposes an exemplary model of housing with passive sustainability in a social housing program using local materials. The project stands out for the use of local sandstone as a structural element, creating double vaults and arches, which facilitate a versatile space; in addition to the use of "old" insulating solutions using posidonia algae from the Mallorcan beaches.
2. Designing with two premises. Residential building of 57 houses by Javier de las Heras Solé
The project of 57 public housing units, day centre and social premises by Javier de las Heras Solé is located on Cuba Street, near the port of Es Portixol, the beach and the promenade of the Es Molinar neighbourhood itself, in Palma de Mallorca.
In the project phase, two formal premises were established based on the orthogonal layout of the surrounding urbanisation. The first of these places the day centre and premises on the ground floor, closing off towards three patios with three different sizes depending on their use. The residential spaces are located on the upper floors, linking up with the second premise, in which all the homes must have sea views, as well as the best orientation.
The materiality of each block maintains the established premises, with the use of sandstone on the ground floor and plaster, lime mortar, wood and glass on the upper floors. In addition, the roof of the day centre is understood as a façade for the users of the residential area, so it is resolved as a flat, landscaped roof with the minimum possible maintenance.
3. Climate adaptation in a building. Social Housing in Ibiza by Peris+Toral Arquitectes
The architectural studio Peris+Toral Arquitectes was commissioned to design a set of social housing units in a heterogeneous environment, located in an area of new urban growth, unconsolidated, south of the city of Ibiza, in the Balearic Islands, Spain. The building seeks to adapt to the climate by proposing an energy system with a low carbon footprint.
The IBAVI has set high demands for energy performance, reduction of carbon footprint and application of sustainable construction systems, which have involved a whole process of research and avant-garde in local construction. With these parameters, the building is designed in such a way that it does not require an active heating or cooling system, which was a technical and construction challenge. To solve these challenges, it was decided to use load-bearing walls with 20 cm thick compacted earth blocks (BTC), which, thanks to their inertia and density, resolve the acoustics between neighbours, while their clay composition controls hygrothermal behaviour and reduces the carbon footprint.
4. The search for the Mediterranean light and breeze. Social housing in Ibiza by Ripoll-Tizón
This set of 19 public housing units, recently awarded the Ascer prize, was designed by the Ripoll Tizón architecture studio. The building is located in a depersonalised urban context, an area of new urban growth located in Talamanca, near the Ibiza marina, with views of the old city. A porous building is proposed that dialogues with the sea breeze and the light of the Mediterranean, whose identity is more clearly linked to the climate and way of life of the island.
Due to the existence of the water table, very close to the surface, the proposal avoids excavations and places the parking on the ground floor. The apartments are arranged on the 5 upper floors, so that all have at least two different orientations, guaranteeing good lighting, good sunlight and natural cross ventilation. The building has an excellent energy rating (A).
5. Think about sustainability and environmental impact. 48 Social housing units by Lloc Arquitectes
The residential complex designed by Lloc Arquitectes proposes 48 new public housing units in the Magaluf area, Calvià, a municipality located in the south of the island of Mallorca, Spain. The Balearic Institute of Housing and the Calvià City Council, give rise to these wooden structure homes with energy class A, based on the use of passive design strategies that promote energy savings, the choice of materials with low environmental impact and spatial flexibility.
The housing complex is organized in two independent areas of 24 homes that face south, favoring and enhancing cross ventilation with a correct dimensioning of the openings that guarantees the control of solar radiation and privacy through a system of roller shutters. Taking into account sustainability and environmental impact criteria, locally manufactured brick walls are used on the ground floor, while cross-laminated timber (CLT) walls are used on the upper levels.
6. Social housing in Formentera. Climate Change Adaptation project funded by the European Union
Life Reusing Posidonia has materialised in a project, winner of the 2018 FAD Architecture Award, designed by Carles Oliver Barceló, Antonio Martín Procopio, Joaquín Moyá Costa, Alfonso Reina Ferragut and Maria Antònia Garcías Roig, where they create 14 social housing units in Sant Ferran, Formentera.
The project demonstrates how the Mediterranean offers the resources and the right climate to reduce energy consumption both in the construction process of the homes and during their use. A project that stands out for the recycling of Posidonia as an insulating material, and which is also characterized by a surprising and intelligent reuse of materials and old carpentry. A well-deserved Fad Award 2018.
The architectural studios of Joan Josep Fortuny Giró and Alventosa Morell Arquitectes have completed a building with 54 public housing units, located in the city of Inca, in the Balearic Islands, Spain. The proposed building addresses two fundamental aspects: achieving the correct insertion of the building into its urban and physical environment, as well as providing an adequate response to the functional aspects of the program.
The complex is located on the elevated part of the plot to facilitate access. The project proposes different types of housing with cross ventilation, which is structurally resolved by a system of reticular concrete slabs and metal pillars. The basement is resolved by means of concrete retaining walls, and the foundation by means of a system of micropiles and pile caps.
8. Sea stones. Five social dwellings at 97th Regal street in Palma de Mallorca
The project to build five social housing units in Palma de Mallorca has been developed by the Balearic Institute of Housing (IBAVI), which continues the research of Reusing Posidonia on the island of Formentera, in this case, adapting to the location of the project.
The housing is located in the Son Gotleu neighbourhood, a district of the city of Palma de Mallorca. The project seeks to recover the old building between party walls, built with sandstone, using all the possible buildability by building the duplex typology.
In the Mallorcan town of Son Servera, there is the new LIVING IN LIME building of social housing designed by Peris + Toral Arquitectes. The building borders a green corridor called Vía Verde, which was designed in 2014 on an old railway line.
In the overlapping area, the building is 28 metres deep, so an exterior walkway with a skylight entrance is proposed that allows for the creation of walk-through dwellings, while the space is protected from the sun and ventilated with a wall of sandstone slats. In addition, the entrances to the dwellings are increased in size to create shaded terraces. Materials that interact with the place are included, such as Arabic tiles on the sloping roofs and the sandstone plinth of the building.
10. Tradition and sustainability vs avant-garde. 24 public dwellings by 08014 arquitectura
The architectural studi08014 arquitectura was commissioned to design the building of 24 public housing units located in Platja d'En Bossa, south of the city of Ibiza.
The shape of the volume, with four floors, followed the tradition of domestic architecture in warm climates, with clear references to the classical domus, the Islamic house or traditional Ibizan architecture.
The four patios around which the building is organised play a fundamental role in the comfort of the eight homes, where all the living rooms and bedrooms have a double orientation. The project complies with numerous sustainability and energy efficiency indicators, significantly improving the values set by current regulations.
The architectural studio Oliveras Boix Arquitectes and the architect Cati Mestre have collaborated together on the project of a public housing building, located on the corner of Lleó XIII and Moreres streets in the city of Manacor, in the eastern part of the island of Mallorca, Spain.
The project aims to achieve an urban dialogue with the nearby buildings and improve the conditions of ventilation and natural lighting to generate the maximum spatial and functional quality of the homes. The two volumes that make up the project are separated by creating a longitudinal patio with exterior walkways through which access to the homes is provided, facilitating greater sunlight and cross ventilation of all spaces.
The architectural studio Carles Enrich Studio has developed a block of 11 social housing units in the El Coll d'en Rabassa neighbourhood, right on the edge of the municipality of Palma, in Palma de Mallorca, on a narrow plot that was previously occupied by a sandstone quarry.
The residential proposal is designed to adapt to pre-existing conditions and in response to specific climatic conditions, providing conscious and environmentally friendly solutions and responding to the current climate emergency.
