“Centre Esplai", a pioneer among sustainable buildings

Motivation

The Centre Esplai, a building that opened in 2007, is the headquarters of the Fundació Catalana de l’Esplai, a foundation which works for children and young people. The site includes office space for up to 200 people, 344 hostel beds, and classrooms. The architectural project took into account the Foundation’s mission and values to design a sustainable building that is integrated into its environment.

ERF worked for two years on the design and construction stages, introducing environmental criteria into the building, alongside the OAB team of architects led by Carlos Ferrater, as well as the Foundation’s own technical and construction personnel.

Results

The main tasks that ERF carried out were:

• Design that maximises the use of natural light and ventilation.
• Selection of low environmental impact materials.
• 100 light ducts to channel natural light into bathrooms and interior spaces.
• 50% reduction in tap water consumption thanks to a grey and rain water recycling system, a pioneer of its kind in 2007.
• Real-time energy and water consumption monitoring on public display screens.
• The building is “eloquent” about its sustainability, enabling users to observe the innovative solutions applied and how they work.

The results obtained by the building’s consumption confirm that the savings proposed at the design phase have been achieved.