Student residence with 274 rooms in Pedralbes by Batlleiroig
28/03/2022.
[BCN] Spain
metalocus, CARLOS GONZÁLEZ
metalocus, CARLOS GONZÁLEZ
Project description by Batlleiroig
A new way of living in contact with nature
The design of the residence promotes a new way of living, with rooms designed and equipped to enjoy total privacy complemented by common spaces and services that encourage community life and relationships between students.
The volumetric organization of the complex frees up a sizable space on the plot, respecting the existing trees and providing the building with quality outdoor spaces in contact with nature. Thanks to the proposed layout, all the rooms have good visuals towards the exterior spaces, ensuring students and teachers access to nature from each of the spaces.
Spaces that enhance community life
The most outstanding common area is the large garden inside the plot, where there is a swimming pool, an outdoor amphitheatre, a barbecue area and seating areas, spaces that allow you to enjoy endless outdoor activities, one of the design priorities.
When accessing the building through Avenida Esplugues, through an open hall, you have a direct view of the interior garden. The same lobby connects with a large communal area on the lower level, illuminated through a large skylight that projects natural light throughout the day. We found all kinds of community spaces in this place, such as study rooms, games rooms, community dining rooms, a living area, a gym…
On the building’s roof, with exceptional views of the city of Barcelona, there is another area for shared use and meeting. All these exterior spaces take on special relevance in a climate and culture like ours, differentiating Vita Pedralbes from other residences located in the urban area of the city.
A simple and quality facade
The façade is characterized by its simplicity, quality and colour, fully integrating itself into the landscaped surroundings of the plot. Its design and modulation respond directly to its program, adjusting to two situations differentiated by its orientation and environment. On the one hand, the north and east facades are directly related to the street, which is why a more protected facade has been designed that combines opaque areas with hollow areas where the balcony doors of the rooms are located. On the other hand, the south and west facades are the most exposed to the sun and in direct contact with the garden; For this reason, lighter facades have been proposed with terraces and vegetation that provide sun protection and provide the rooms with quality outdoor spaces in contact with nature.
A ventilated facade has been designed with a green extruded ceramic finish with a fretwork-shaped geometry framed with aluminium slats that emphasize its modulation. This finish and its geometry generate a play of shadows that varies during the day, characterizing the image of the building.
The ventilated façade, its extruded ceramic finish with high thermal inertia and the incorporation of high-performance carpentry give rise to a thermal envelope that contributes to reducing the energy demand of the building.
A sustainable project that responsibly manages resources
The building has been designed under strict sustainability and energy-saving parameters, with a thermal envelope and volumetric organization that reduces its demand to a minimum. In the same way, the incorporation of a series of measures and the high efficiency of its facilities reduce CO2 emissions to a minimum, which means that the residence consumes 85% less than what is established by the regulations.
Renewable sources of energy production have been incorporated, such as photovoltaic solar panels –with an annual production of 42 MWh/year– as well as thermal solar panels for the production of domestic hot water –covering 70% of the building’s demand–.
At the same time, it has been decided to implement responsible water management, with the introduction of efficient equipment, native vegetation with low water requirements and reusing of 100% of rainwater. The rainwater coming from the roofs of the building is used to irrigate all the green areas and those from the exterior urbanization infiltrate into the land itself. With these measures, we reduce to a minimum the consumption of water and the discharge to the sewage network.
The building promotes sustainable mobility with spaces for bikes and scooters and with open and attractive stairs that connect the common areas and promote healthy interior routes.
For all these reasons, the Vita Student residence plans to obtain the BREEAM sustainable construction certificate, as well as a high energy rating of A.
Batlleiroig is an architecture multidisciplinary office based in Barcelona, that combines the practice of Planning, Landscaping and Architecture. Founded in 1981 by Enric Batlle and Joan Roig, it is made up of over 140 technicians from various disciplines. Committed with the environment and involved in the search for solutions to solve our planet's climate emergency, Batlleiroig has been talking about Landscape and Nature since its foundation.
With a holistic view, which always seeks to link the definition of urban to the logic of landscape, a visionary commitment to innovation and a stable, diverse, and constantly formed team, Batlleiroig works in three different disciplines: City and Territory, Landscape and Public space, Architecture and Construction. Areas in which they intervene, trying to be highly specialized in each of them, but without forgetting the essential transversality that is required today to develop any project.
The versatility of their work and the implication that it demonstrates to ensure the well-being and health of people, in addition to recognition, has given them the credibility and rigor to be considered, on the international scene, one of the leading practices in solutions linked to the future development of cities.
Medal CSCAE from the Superior Council of the Associations of Architects of Spain in 2017 for their business performance and FAD 2012 Prize for Architecture and Criticism, they have also received numerous awards for their built work, among which are: The International Architecture Awards in 2020 and in 2014, Landscape of the Year WAF 2018, several Catalonia Construction Awards, IAKS-International Olympic Committee Award 2015, multiple WAF Awards and the European Prize for Urban Public Space 2004.
Their work is presented in the monographic publications: Merging City and Nature. Actar (2022); Batlle i Roig, Building with Nature. AV Monographs Num 20, Arquitectura Viva (2017); Batlle i Roig Architecture 2008-2018. TC Cuadernos (2017); Twenty Gardens 1981-2011. Paisajismo (2011); Batlle i Roig Architecture 1996-2009. TC Cuadernos (2009); Architecture Described. Actar (2000), among others.