{"id":13769,"date":"2024-03-12T13:55:24","date_gmt":"2024-03-12T13:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/e-zeppelin.ro\/en\/?p=13769"},"modified":"2024-03-13T13:42:54","modified_gmt":"2024-03-13T13:42:54","slug":"brick-social-housing-insulated-with-seaweed-08014-arquitectura-24-apartments-in-ibiza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/e-zeppelin.ro\/en\/brick-social-housing-insulated-with-seaweed-08014-arquitectura-24-apartments-in-ibiza\/","title":{"rendered":"Brick social housing insulated with seaweed. 08014 arquitectura: 24 apartments in Ibiza"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Seaweed on the roof, and bricks filled-in with earth from the building site excavation. This small and compact dwelling block happily blends timeless rationalism and regionalism, climate- and social appropriate thinking and smart inventions. A model.<\/span><\/p>\n

Text: Cătălina Frâncu<\/strong><\/span>
\nPhoto: Pol Viladoms<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Social housing doesn’t have to be boring or look cheap. In some cases, social housing differs slightly from ‘for sale’ housing in its finishes — especially those built in the 80s and 90s, when the same shape was built with stone and exposed brick on one side and PVC on the other. Not the case here. Since starhitecture is questioned more widely than socialist circles as a waste of resources, social housing continues its rise as an area of experimentation and an example of good practice.<\/span><\/p>\n

08014 arquitectura is building a semi-community block with 24 social housing units in Ibiza. The small dimensions and the efficiency of the spatial transition place the block between individual and collective housing, in a simple spatial gradation: the private apartments are contained in a clear structure, double-oriented around atria with a double function: air conditioning and lighting. The pathway to them is lit, generously sized and flexible enough to be appropriated with various shared functions. <\/span><\/p>\n

$\"P01_31.$ <\/a>*situation plan
\n<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

$\"P02\"$ <\/a>*<\/span><\/em><\/span>Ground floor plan. A 28.5m side square | four courtyards of 6.1m on each side | 300 square meters given to the street as an open hall<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

$\"P05\"$ <\/a>*sections<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The apartments are owned by the Balearic Government, which makes them available to those below a set income threshold, and the rental price is between €350 and €500 per month. Because demand outstrips supply, residents are chosen by lottery.<\/span><\/p>\n

$\"01_A_13_A_08014_arquitectura_24$ <\/a><\/p>\n

The project, discussed in the right contexts, has the potential to redefine luxury: Ibiza, an exclusive destination for extravagant holidays, offers its residents 24 social housing units built with natural materials, high thermal comfort and low carbon emissions. <\/span><\/p>\n

$\"03_A_08014_arquitectura_24$ <\/a><\/p>\n

What’s more, the homes are generous, well-lit and the interiors reveal the Iberian Peninsula’s unmistakable milky ceramics. These days, in Bucharest, many luxury apartments are finished with washable plasterboard.<\/span><\/p>\n

$\"11_A_08014_arquitectura_24$ <\/a><\/p>\n

A casual glance from the northwest towards the Aula Palatina<\/a> might place it somewhere in the 20th century, or even at the same time as the 24 dwellings. A giant structure built in 310 can be mistaken for a multi-purpose neoliberal hub in a disused factory, and it’s all thanks to the bricks left exposed for technical and economic reasons. <\/span><\/p>\n

$\"Aula_Palatina_foto_Marcin$ <\/a>*Aula Palatina, photo: Marcin Szala -wikisource<\/em><\/p>\n

The structure remains legible: the technique has rolled on until now with the metamorphoses typical of each century, and now, because it stands more covered than uncovered, it is in danger of losing its rigour. 08014 architecture have been confronted with the recovery of constructive knowledge, fitting in with the new contemporary direction of the architect-mason.<\/span><\/p>\n

The architects emphasise, from the very first lines, one of the pivotal gestures of the project: the earth as a filler for the clay block walling system<\/span>, for reasons of sound and heat insulation (in summer) and Posidonia insulation. Both gestures imply an answer to the questions about waste and resources (I can only think of how much plastic was not used for packing the earth and the Posidonia). <\/span><\/p>\n

“This idea emerged during the drafting phase of the project in response to two specific requirements: increasing the thermal inertia of the building envelope for better energy performance in summer and improving acoustic insulation between dwellings. We wanted to leave the partitions ‘bare’, avoiding multi-layer solutions (with a higher CO2 load), which made it very difficult to comply with acoustic regulations.<\/em>”<\/span><\/p>\n

Posidonia insulation was another challenge: the old local technique, of course, remained without craftspeople who knew it. To do it, the architects learnt it from books and handed it over to local craftspeople, with effort and some high attention to details. <\/span><\/p>\n

$\"12_AB_48.$ <\/a><\/p>\n

$\"13_AB_49.$ <\/a><\/p>\n

The reasons for the massive loss of construction know-how are, say the architects, the decades of reinforced concrete being the structure, clay bricks — the infill, both covered with plasterboard and plasticky finishes, behind which the fittings could be hidden without much painstaking work. We know the situation: that’s how we’re losing earth construction techniques, beating the shingle on the corner and manufacturing ceramic tiles. In the authors’ words:<\/span><\/p>\n

“In the case of Posidonia insulation, a centuries-old technique on the island but in disuse for decades — things get complicated: first, you have to explain to the workers a technique they don’t know, and then you have to carry out a thorough inspection of the work to make sure that the Posidonia is properly dried, that the frames are filled without leaving voids, that the right pressure is exerted to achieve the density needed to achieve the thermal insulation values of the project etc<\/em>.”<\/span><\/p>\n

$\"47.$ <\/a><\/p>\n

On a 28x28m site, the architects positioned the semi-collective housing block in a compact, low-rise high-density form, perforated by two parallelepiped voids that allow the apartments to have a double orientation with a third facade facing the inner courtyard with a cooling or heating function, depending on the season. <\/span><\/p>\n

$\"P03\"$ <\/a>*First and second floor plan<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

$\"P04\"$ <\/a>*Third floor plan
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

The location on the site was decided following a climatic analysis: in Central Europe, the first instinct would have been to face south with a thermally insulated wooden facade for winter comfort. In a Mediterranean context, however, “a compact, self-contained building built with local techniques that provide thermal comfort through inertia is the most suitable option for a mild winter and warm summer climate. Add to this the context of a tourist area, so a distance from the surroundings and the creation of interesting interior spaces was required.<\/em>”<\/span><\/p>\n

$\"06_AB_08014_arquitectura_24$ <\/a><\/p>\n

$\"05_AB_08014_arquitectura_24$ <\/a>*Bioclimatic atriums: covering the courtyards with a system of glazed enclosures and practicable solar protections helps create heat accumulators in winter and ventilated shaded spaces in summer.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

$\"07_08014_arquitectura_24$ <\/a><\/p>\n

Passageways are not just hallways: they are generously lit and have enough space to be invested with community functions. In the words of the architects:<\/span><\/p>\n

“These spaces arise as a result of a very compact organisation, with eight dwellings per floor and a single core of stairs located in the center of the floor, which means a long development of the dwellings and the inevitable appearance of transitional spaces, which we wanted to size generously so that they can be used as another room, going beyond their simple function of passage. These spaces are always open to the interior courtyards, so that they benefit from optimal conditions of sunshine and ventilation.<\/em><\/span>
\nDuring the design phase we imagined various uses for the transitional spaces (dining room, office, cloakroom, play area, etc.), but because of their open and multi-purpose condition, it will be the users who will ultimately define the uses of these spaces, most likely surprising us as well.<\/em>”<\/span><\/p>\n

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