"On Monday, February 12, 2024, the students of Master's Degree in management and design Environmental Buildings attended a visit site visit at Paseo de la Castellana 19, Madrid, accompanied by Miguel Ángel Díaz Camacho, architect, director and partner founder at MADC Arquitectos, who are currently leading the project and the execution of this building together with Estudio Ruiz-Larrea. Miguel Ángel Díaz Camacho, who also teaches at Master's Degree, gave a theoretical session at classroom about the history, process of design and execution of the building.
The building, built in the 19th century and subsequently converted in 1987, is now in public ownership and is being refurbished into a modern office building for lease. Work is underway to obtain Passivhaus and LEED certifications and to ensure accessibility.
Díaz Camacho emphasized the peculiarity of working with this subject of buildings protected by the heritage commission, but no less interesting for that. He stressed the importance of "having a thinking that combines the cultural and the environmental at the beginning of this subject of projects." "It is crucial to be able to find heritage elements in our favor and to think about energy strategies from the subject of Projects, and not only from those of Facilities or Structures". Everything must be in dialogue for the building to function logically, especially when looking for certifications that are increasingly in demand.
The visit went from the main block, through the facade facing the Paseo de la Castellana, to the inner courtyard and ending at the secondary block, which is still in an earlier stage of construction. In this way, we were able to see the completed and finished construction systems, as well as the construction at plenary session of the Executive Council process. We observed how some aspects that we had studied in class were treated, such as insulation systems, windows or the design of thermal bridges.
During the visit, Miguel Ángel highlighted the importance of selecting a team that knows these certifications and the dynamics of work of a Passivhaus work. This certification requires certain peculiarities and organization that is important to know and manage carefully to avoid mistakes.
In addition, being a Passivhaus work in such a peculiar environment as the Paseo de la Castellana and adjacent to the State Attorney General's Office and, therefore, with such strict conservation conditions, we were able to understand the importance of being aware of all the conditioning factors that influence a project of these characteristics. "The most complicated moment was how to fix the floor slabs, the meeting with a facade that cannot be touched...", this is how Miguel Ángel described the meticulous work of reconstruction and understanding that they have had to tackle in this work.
This experience provided us with a vision internship and a realistic view of the process of design and sustainable construction, underlining the importance of integrating technical, environmental and cultural aspects in each phase of project".
Text written by: Pilar Vilarrubí, student of Master's Degree Universitario en Arquitectura + MDGAE
