Strategies for Sustainable Buildings: 8 Selected Projects in Spain

The following Spanish buildings illustrate to us how it is possible to tackle sustainability from several perspectives. In one way or another, their architects and designers have succeeded in transforming what was an imperial necessity into the project's main strength.

29CM Seongsu Store / studio fragment

‘29CM Seongsu’ is the first offline showroom of the online store ‘29CM'. Making the unknown known means a change in cognition. ‘29CM’ specializes in discovering and introducing new things. The friendly way of speaking as if telling a story is also a unique feature of the ‘29CM’ online store.

HOVER SPACE Extension to the KLE Society Head Office / Thirdspace Architecture Studio

Could an existing structure be extended without really disturbing it or even barely touching it? How can the new negotiate with the old so that each retains their own identity and yet are cohesive together? These were among the many questions we asked ourselves when a reputed educational charity institution needed additional space for their 50-year-old, two-story corporate office. The existing office, though nondescript, was nevertheless a space that had significance to the Institution’s collective memory, and it was sought to be retained out of a sense of historicity. The offices were always bustling with activity and had undergone a mid-life retrofit, so any addition to the top would have to be done in a manner that did not disturb or disrupt the workings of the office. Therefore the challenge was to intervene in a manner that the existing office would not be affected in its functioning nor would its interiors be damaged through intrusive structural works.

Alphington Townhouses / Green Sheep Collective

These four townhouses present an innovative approach to the design of medium-density housing. Each townhouse has been designed with excellent connections to the outdoors, maximized access to north light, and natural ventilation. Internal spaces allow for flexibility and the varied lifestyles of inhabitants. The challenge was to provide designs that allowed north light to as many spaces as possible on the four north-south sites while balancing sustainable design features and material selection with the project budget and intended resale values. The 'end user' was not known, so design features and materials had to be flexible, low-maintenance, and have a low environmental impact, to provide value for potential purchasers. 

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