Visit to the building housing the offices of Schwartz-Hautmont (Vila-seca, Tarragona)
On 25th October 2014, the group studying for the Master’s Degree in Architecture and Sustainability made a technical visit to the building housing the offices of Schwartz-Hautmont (Construcciones Metálicas S.A.), located on the Vila-seca industrial estate, Tarragona.
The visit was guided by the architects Coque Claret and Dani Calatayud, the people responsible for the project and the execution of the work. Amongst other things, they showed us the characteristics and main innovations in terms of energy use and construction. They also explained how the design process was carried out and how energy is currently being managed.
This visit was organized by the Institut de Recerca en Energia de Catalunya (IREC – the Institute of Energy Research of Catalonia), within the framework of the European project called AIDA (Affirmative Integrated Energy Design Action).
Visit to the Les Planes de Son Centre
On 7th November 2014, the students of the Master’s Degree in Architecture and Sustainability: Design Strategies and Techniques in Environmental Control made a guided visit to the nature research centre of Les Planes de Son, in the Lleida Pyrenees.
The nature centre is located at a place called Les Planes de Son, in the Àneu valley. Its main objective is to promote the study of nature and to create greater social awareness about the need to conserve the environment and to promote sustainable development.
The site has a bioclimatic building with an area of more than 3,000 m2 that uses renewable energy. This building provides accommodation and also a restaurant, laboratory, planetarium, library and auditorium, as well as many other services.
On the visit, we received explanations about some of the environmental criteria applied at the centre. These include: the appropriate handling of waste, water saving, energy efficiency and landscaping integration, amongst others.
