vallirana 47

Project

304508

Status

Submitted

Award category

You want to submit

NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS AWARDS: existing completed examples

Project title

vallirana 47

Full project title

Description

Vallirana 47 consists of the refurbishment of 5 dwellings and the common spaces in a late 19th  century building.

The refurbishment deals with the identity of the building in a way that is both continuous and disruptive, with a respectful and at the same time playful attitude. The project arrived to a high level of hybridization between the new and the old.

What was the geographical scope of your project?

Does your project address mainly urban or rural issues?

Does your project refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations?

Has your project benefited from EU programmes or funds?

Has your project won an EU prize?

Your project is fully completed?

When was your project implemented?

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes ?

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?

Please provide a summary of your project

Vallirana 47 is a quite anonymous and discreet building. Its value doesn´t lie within any singular identity, but in the sense of continuity of an epoch. The work consists of the refurbishment of 5 of the 6 dwellings in the building, and the common spaces.

Aroused by the idea of intervention of the client “Pontejos (conservation and preservation)”, we brought the project to a high level of hybridization between the new and the old, to which we had never arrived before. We worked with the identity of the building in a way that is both continuous and disruptive, with a respectful and at the same time playful attitude.

The new spatial arrangement is superimposed to the existing one in an expressive way, through friction and displacement. Pavements and ceilings incorporate the order and hierarchy of the original spaces, while the partitions collect, at the same time, part of this memory and its transformation.

The new material additions hybridize with the pre-existing in its detailing and ornament. Many materials and elements of the building were reused, which maintain its atmospheric continuity. Everything that was added, links with this continuity from the most tactile aspects to the most abstract ones: glazed tiles, application of graphic patterns extracted from the building's grids, wall papers, etc ... In this sensory approach, it was also incorporated the stratification of qualities that characterized the residential buildings of that time, specifically in the detail of some coatings and elements.

Finally, we built a density of layers of perception and information in the interiors, which provides complexity and vibration. Meaningful vibration for those who want to interpret it, which at the same time generates visual comfort, deliberately away from the smooth and anonymous surfaces, so the future tenants will feel at home from the first day.

Please indicate the main themes of your project with 5 key words

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of sustainability (including circularity) and how these have been met.
Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context

The key objective in terms of sustainability is the first decision: to reuse the building (not demolish).

Secondly, reuse most of the existing materials in it (pavements, division walls, marble kitchen sinks and surfaces, etc...

After that, there is a strategy of invisible insulation, on the facade walls and on the windows, changing to double glass.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these have been met.
Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context

The project was brought to a high level of hybridization between the new and the old. The project deals with the identity of the building in a way that is both continuous and disruptive, with a respectful and at the same time playful attitude.

The new spatial arrangement is superimposed to the existing one in an expressive way, through friction and displacement. Floor and ceiling plans incorporate the order and hierarchy of the original spaces, while in the partitions is mixed (overlapped), part of its memory and its new life. The new material additions hybridize with the memory of the building in its detailing and ornament.

Finally, we built a density of layers of perception and information in the interiors, which provides a meaningful complexity and vibration. This vibration generates visual comfort, deliberately away from the smooth and anonymous surfaces.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of inclusion (equal opportunities, public participation, citizen engagement, co-design, universal design, accessibility, affordability, etc.) and how these have been met.
Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context

The project was a co-design process with the client, who was a socially involved person, concerned about the conservation of architecture identity in the cities. But the apartments were refurbished to be rent, so the future inhabitants were unknown and  didn’t participate in the design decisions.

Please explain how these three dimensions have been combined in your project.
Please highlight how this approach can be exemplary

The project is exemplary in terms of reusing attitude. The client had a clear idea of refurbishment in a way that enhances the identity of the urban fabric, hybridizing new and old, which was a shared attitude between architect and client. This sensibility, at the same time, is a position about sustainability, as the strategies of reuse are really important in terms of reducing emissions and energy waste, because construction process is responsible for a big % of the emissions in the whole life of a construction.

Please give information on the results/impacts achieved by your project in relation to the category you apply for

We didn’t monitor the results in terms of energy consumption, and didn't calculate the amount of energy saved in the construction, compared to a standard new construction of the same size.

Please explain how citizens and civil society were involved in the in the design and/or implementation of the project.
Please also explain the benefits that derived from their involvement.

Civil society was not involved in the design. The project was a co-design process with the client, who was a socially involved person, concerned about the conservation of architecture identity in the cities

Please explain what kind of global challenges the project addressed by providing local solutions

The project addresses the challenge of reuse in a creative way, and to do it in a way that keeps the identity of a place but also transforms it so it is useful for present times and needs. The balance between those two needs or goals is a real challenge for our cities.

Please highlight the innovative character of the project as compared to mainstream practices in the field of the project.

We brought the project to a high level of hybridization between the new and the old, to which we had never arrived before. The mainstream practices in the field of refurbishments usually work with the idea of contrast, forcing the perception of new and old as 2 realities that don’t touch each other. We worked with the identity of the building in a way that is both continuous and disruptive, with a respectful and at the same time playful attitude.

Please explain to the potential of transferring the projects’ results or learnings to other interested parties and contexts.
Please provide clear documentation, communication of methodology and principles in this context.

There is a big potential in the refurbishment works, instead of demolishing and rebuilding. Within the reusing strategy there is a big amount of energy and emissions saving.

There is a big potential in the hybridization strategy, fusing new and old, in terms of identification of the inhabitants (or users) with the place they have to live, it is an ancestral connection that works in terms of spiritual comfort and wellbeing.

Is an evaluation report or any relevant documentation available?

If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload it or write it below

By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed project has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes 2022 in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the project, concept, idea, and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary.

By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform https://prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu/ and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their ideas, concepts, projects, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted idea, project, concept is found to infringe third parties rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.