Terrassa
The Yellow Nest
Smilics Technologies Corporate Offices
A benchmark for a sustainable office building with very low energy consumption that generates more energy than it consumes.
Area
1.800 m2
Date
2017-2021
Location
Carrer Baldrich 222-226, Terrassa
Developer
SMILICS TECHNOLOGIES
Builder
Baldó BSO
Photography
Del Rio Bani
Challenge
To design a self-sufficient office building that shows the potential of new technologies applied to renewable energies.
To build a new corporate headquarters for Smilics Technologies, a manufacturer of energy saving digital components. The building must be a benchmark for energy efficiency and sustainability. We want to achieve a PEB (Positive Energy Building), which functions as a laboratory for different renewable energy sources. It will consist of three phases, the first one of new construction and the other two of Energy Rehabilitation. It should allow for future growth and be easily adaptable to a production or logistics warehouse use.
Process
We will solve the functional needs of the building turning it into a technological showroom and a very efficient energy container that requires very little consumption.
We conceive the building as an optimal energy container that reduces consumption. We will adapt to the particularities of the site by introducing the maximum passive elements in the architecture. We will design a very well insulated skin, continuous and watertight, with a ventilated facade. We will optimize the dimensions of the openings avoiding the excessive use of glass. We will have specific solar protections for each orientation, which will prevent the sun from entering in summer but will allow it to enter in winter. We will open an interior courtyard to achieve cross ventilation, we will collect all the rainwater and we will propose a Canadian well that will temper the air renewal of the building. We will plant vegetation and prioritize light colors to mitigate the heat island effect. The machine room will be the heart of the building and will be visible from the showroom.
Result
A benchmark of efficiency that generates more energy than it consumes and explains it to us
The building is very efficient and requires very little energy. We have 12 geothermal wells, an aerothermal system, enthalpy heat recovery and renewal air supply through the Canadian well. Monitoring and domotics decide which thermal system to use depending on the outdoor conditions at any given time. The screens are activated automatically and, together with the Dali lighting, balance the needs for natural and artificial light. All consumption is supported by a photovoltaic production that reaches 70 kW of production and accumulation batteries. The result is a building that generates more energy than it consumes and is able to transfer its surplus to neighboring buildings. The panel at the entrance displays real-time data on generation, consumption, and the reduction of tons of CO2 emitted. The use of a material that cannot be altered on the outside, such as zinc, explains that it is a passive and highly technological building.
