Sustainability Report
Embodied carbon
The project incorporates several strategies intended to reduce the environmental impact associated with materials and construction:
- Retention and refurbishment of the existing entrance building, rather than replacing the structure, thereby avoiding the additional embodied carbon associated with demolition and new construction.
- Use of a ventilated ceramic facade made with extruded ceramic elements. The ceramic is described as a durable, locally sourced material, helping reduce transport-related impacts and supporting regional production.
- Prefabricated, dry-assembled facade construction, which reduces the need for wet construction processes and allows components to be dismantled, replaced, reused, or recycled.
- Reversible construction systems, allowing the facade and photovoltaic pergola to be adapted or disassembled at the end of their service life.
- Demountable steel photovoltaic pergola, assembled through dry connections to support future material recovery and reuse.
Operational Emissions / Energy
Operational CO2 emissions decrease from 74.79 to 5.89 kg CO₂/m²·year, representing approximately a 92.1% reduction, which clearly supports a low-carbon classification. The project team reports substantial improvements to the building’s operational energy performance through a combination of envelope upgrades and renewable-energy generation. The principal strategies include:
- Installation of a ventilated ceramic facade with extruded ceramic elements, improving the thermal performance of the entrance building.
- Reduction in facade thermal transmittance from approximately 1.38 W/m²K to 0.19 W/m²K.
- Upgraded roof insulation, reducing roof thermal transmittance to approximately half its original value.
- Reduction in heating and cooling demand through improved envelope performance.
- Reduction in non-renewable primary energy consumption.
- Integration of a photovoltaic pergola, designed with an orientation and inclination optimised for the latitude and geographic location of La Unión.
- Solar shading provided by the pergola, improving outdoor comfort while generating renewable electricity.
Service and maintenance emissions
The project addresses service and maintenance impacts through durable, low-maintenance, and replaceable construction systems. The ventilated ceramic facade is intended to reduce maintenance requirements over time, as ceramic is durable and resistant to weathering. Its dry-assembled and prefabricated construction also allows individual components to be replaced without requiring the entire facade to be dismantled.
The use of a ventilated facade system supports long-term building performance by improving thermal behaviour while reducing the need for invasive maintenance interventions. The photovoltaic pergola similarly uses a demountable construction system, allowing components to be accessed, replaced, or recovered more easily than in a permanently bonded or monolithic assembly.
Afterlife
The project is primarily a refurbishment and identity-renewal intervention rather than a change of building use. The existing entrance building continues to accommodate the sports centre’s changing rooms, toilets, offices and cafeteria. The design nevertheless supports future adaptability through:
- Retention of the existing building and its programmes.
- A unified but non-structurally dependent facade envelope.
- Dry-assembled and reversible facade components.
- A flexible entrance threshold created by the fully foldable metal façade.
- The ability to open the building toward the public realm and accommodate both everyday activities and larger public events.
Yes. The project team specifically identifies reversible and demountable construction systems:
- The ventilated ceramic facade is prefabricated, dry-assembled, and reversible.
- Its components can be dismantled, replaced, reused, or recycled.
- The photovoltaic pergola is a fully demountable system assembled through dry connections.
- Its steel structure, metal cladding, and photovoltaic-related components can potentially be disassembled for reuse, replacement or recycling.
These characteristics support circular-economy principles by reducing dependence on destructive demolition and enabling future material recovery.
