TAIGUA
location
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The competition for the transformation of a car dealers showroom into the offices of the Terrassa municipal water company represents an opportunity to extend the useful life of construction with great potential, although from the outside it seems to be somewhat unattractive, a building composed of a large car exhibition hall on the one hand and a mechanical car workshop on the other, with a wing of offices between the two sides, on the ground floor level and mezzanine.
The original building does not take advantage of the location next to Vallparadis Park and its orientation is unfortunate due to the large insolation by the windows to the south. This collaboration with Aiguasol tries to turn this situation around and exploit the whole’s bioclimatic potential. At the same time, we propose to provide the offices with a large number of photovoltaic panels on the roof, making the building an energy producer rather than a consumer.
It is clear that the most prominent value of the building is its large dimension, both in floorplans and in free heights, and this becomes the main architectural quality of the offices. Leaving the existing roof intact with its pillar structure but retroceding the façade on the east and southeast, a protective cantilever is created, which prevents the entry of solar radiation. The portion thus added to the public space becomes a low pond, lowering the temperature through evaporation. The windows, vertical to express the high height of the central noble space, are protected with undulated perforated metal sheets: mini-wave, which can provide solar protection of different degrees. A green patio is created inside that allows the cross ventilation of the offices.
Climate uses geothermal as a renewable energy source for heat in winter and freshness in summer and photovoltaic panels are placed on the roof, for a generation of 220 MWh/year. The company has a fleet of vehicles that will be electrified soon and that thus can be charged with the energy created by this installation.
The project combines passive and active strategies in a comprehensive rehabilitation where architecture and energy management go hand in hand.
