The awards ceremony took place this Tuesday at the Auditori Disseny Hub in Barcelona as part of the FAD Architecture Awards and the Habitácola Awards for architecture and design students organised by ARQUIN-FAD. A great festival of architecture where every year the most relevant professionals from Spain and Portugal come together.
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In the architecture category, the jury of the FAD Awards has highlighted those works that respond to current needs and address contemporary issues, whether in cities or in the landscape.
The IBAVI development was recognised by the public, who were able to vote for the different projects through the organisation’s website.
The public has awarded this project of eight flats built and designed by IBAVI with natural materials, in some cases reused, and local techniques, which highlights the know-how with the sea as a structural element and not only as an enclosure. Of special interest is the space generated by the double vaults and arches of this material, the adaptability of the space, the use of passive techniques and “old” solutions, such as the insulation made from the excess Posidonia seaweed of the Mallorcan beaches.
The award was collected by the director-general of Housing and Architecture, Cristina Ballester; the manager of the IBAVI, Olvido Terrassa; the director of the Technical Department of the IBAVI, Carles Oliver, and Alfonso Reina, architect of the IBAVI.
The Director-General of Housing and Architecture, Cristina Ballester, said: “This award is a recognition of a whole editorial line with the way of building an alternative from the premise of the dignity of public subsidised housing and respect for the environment; a way of doing that seeks to anticipate solutions to current emergencies such as climate or housing. We express our absolute gratitude because it encourages us to continue in this way and to overcome all the obstacles that may be necessary”.
It should be remembered that this development has already received other distinctions such as the Ciutat de Palma Architecture 2022 award.
The Salvador Espriu social housing building, in the El Amanecer neighbourhood of Palma, is characterised by the use of local materials with low environmental impact, such as sea stone, Posidonia and reused wood. The building takes advantage of construction systems such as inertia or the barrel vault structure to guarantee maximum climatic comfort and, therefore, tackle the climate emergency and energy poverty.
Since last March, families over 65 years of age and single-parent families have been living in the homes, which have been given a personalised rent adjustment that in no case exceeds 30% of their income. Seven of the eight dwellings have two bedrooms and one has only one bedroom; they are between 50 and 70 square metres in size.