Visit to the university residence of the ETSAV
On Friday 31st January, 2014, we visited the university residences on the Campus of the Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura del Vallès (ETSAV – School of Architecture of El Vallès), UPC, in Sant Cugat del Vallès.
On the visit, we were accompanied by Claudi Aguiló and Roger Tudó, from the architecture studios dataAE and HARQUITECTES, who were the winners of a competition launched in 2009. This competition proposed the construction of a set of housing units for students of architecture at the school which had to comply with Swiss MINERGIE energy certification (less than 38 kWh/m2 per year) and use a new system of industrialised construction (Compact Habit prefabricated concrete modules).
The programme for these 57 housing units was resolved with two blocks that delimited a large central atrium, providing a space for common use, a gardened patio and. Once the project was completely finished, this vestibule would also have to be covered with greenhouse closures, which would turn it into a bioclimatic “intermediate” space. This would also make it possible to improve the energy efficiency of the building.
The 40m2 housing units have certain minimum elements. They are essentially “unfinished” housing units that give their occupants the opportunity to take control of this habitat.
