Urbanization understood as transformation that keeps the existing ecosystem. Everything that appears in the image was there before we arrived: dragonflies, ears growing in stone-bench and tractor brakes converted into armrests.

In 2011, under the housing bubble hangover, the IBAVI’s Technical Department is in charge of the direction of the urbanization works and the urban design of 320 public social dwellings and a school on a plot of 30,000m² located in Campos. The need to build the school and the funds from the Development Ministry, drive the start of the works. Initially, this project held all the cards to end as any phantom urbanization that have appeared throughout the Spanish territory (check www.nacionrotonda.com), but professional ethics prevented producing another artifact of this kind. As solution, we have foreseen two phases of use:

FIRST PHASE_GREEN AREA During the building process, which may extend over 20 years, depending on demand, it will be a green area for the enjoyment of all Campos inhabitants, because there was no park of this size to walk. For this reason most streets are exclusively for pedestrians, except the one that gives access to school. These streets are paved with permeable pavement, made of sand and lime, which reduces the temperature on 30ºC regarding a paved road. Also we have to remember that the impermeability is one of the great problems of cities, especially by flooding. The design of public space wants to give the impression of minimum intervention. With a little luck, some people may believe that the works have consisted on removing the weeds, saving trees and discovering some stones that can be used to sit.

SECOND PHASE_ECO-NEIGHBORHOOD it will be a new form of sustainable city, performed for first time in the Balearic Islands, where it has taken into account the health of people and the management of resources (water, energy, waste, etc.) both under the construction of the works and during the use of future buildings, in order to offer a better quality of life. A little piece of town thought for people, where children can play in the street once again, without worrying parents. It will be a friendlier, more comfortable and more economic urbanization for its future inhabitants, who will save more than € 1,000 per year per household, since they will need no artificial air conditioning. This is possible because the design seeks that future homes will be Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB), which will be compulsory from 2018 for all public buildings of EU countries. For this reason the buildings will be oriented perpendicular to Wind Street, which is the direction of the embat, the prevailing wind in summer coming from the coast, and it will allow cooling for free the houses at 1°C per km/h of the wind speed. To promote this natural cooling or heating, the main facade is oriented towards the streets which are exclusively for pedestrians, reducing noise and visual pollution.

In this eco-neighborhood it has been especially important the reuse of the waste which were at the site before we arrived, not only for environmental and economic issues, but also to preserve its agricultural and livestock history as well as to pay tribute to its inhabitants, integrating on the works everything which constitutes a document of the passing of time: tiles, local sandstone blocks (marès), field tools, scrap metal, tractor parts, logs, cattle feeders, etc.

The banks, built with recycled materials, are unique and individual pieces that suggest many ways to sit and chat.

The concrete pavements with recycled aggregate have been colored with local soil without chemicals, using green building techniques. As an additive is used exclusively nopal, which is the sap of the prickly pear mixed with water, which serves to reduce cracking.

It has been reduced to maximum the use of PVC, polyurethane, petroleum and other toxic products. All paintings and all treatments for wood are environmentally friendly and free of lead and heavy metals. In the joints of the concrete it has been used natural cork.

The electrical substations have been built with load-bearing walls of marès sandstone using traditional construction techniques, including flat arches up to 2.5 m long. All tiles are reused.

We have selected only native species for the vegetation, and it’s irrigated with water from a well that has been watering the fields for more than thirty years.

The points of light will save up to 50% energy over conventional lighting, making it unnecessary to install a system of regulation time used.

The techniques used in this work are replicable in rehabilitation of neighborhoods and cities.