A while ago (not so long ago) “prefabrication” and “wood” were words that took a back seat in the jargon of large construction companies. The prefabricated houses carried certain negative nuance and the wood sounded like a past material, more typical of other times than the era of concrete, steel and glass. Little by little that is changing and Madrid is the best example: as part of its policy to create affordable accommodation, the City Council has just inaugurated its first promotion built “in wood with prefabricated 3D modules.”
And he already warns that he will not stay there.
What has happened? That the Madrid City Council just opened a new promotion of affordable rental municipal housing. Fifty two- and three-bedroom apartments with storage rooms and 78 parking spaces.
Until then, nothing out of this world. If the news is interesting it is because this work is not the same as others of the Municipal Housing and Land Company (EMVS). in words of the Consistory, it is “the first public housing development in Madrid built in wood with prefabricated 3D modules.”
What exactly have they done? The work in question is called ‘Iberia Loreto 1’is located in the district of Barajas and has been carried out with an investment of 14.6 million euros. In total it includes 52 homes (16 with two bedrooms and the remaining 36 with three), as well as 78 parking spaces. Overall, the promotion is distributed in two blocks separated by a green area.
The work stands out, however, more for its execution than for what it offers. Those responsible have resorted to “industrialized wood construction”; That is, they have used wooden modules previously created in a factory.
Why is it important? Because with this bet, Madrid joins other developers who (inside and outside Spain, both in the public sphere and in the private sector) have been betting in recent years on that same strategy: industrialized construction. Australia has done itfor example, to shortcut your serious crisis of housing, and the model is also viewed with interest in Portugal either USA. In other countries, such as Japan, it is already fully settled.
In Spain, data from the sector suggest that industrialized housing still has a reduced weightbut companies note a growing interest. In the Basque Country it is seen as a way to reinforce the offer and recently we told you how in Zaragoza they have raised a new hotel with prefabricated modules.
Why’s that? Due to its advantages, something that is responsible for highlighting the Madrid City Council. The City Council recalls that Iberia Loreto 1 has been completed in less than a year and a half. 17 months have passed between the laying of the first stone and the completion of the work. In general, speed is one of the great assets of the industrialized modelwhich consists of manufacturing modules (more or less assembled) in a warehouse that are then moved to the construction site.
It may seem like an unimportant change, but it implies that part of the work is done in the factories, not on the site itself, which helps to speed up the works, cut times and even reduce workplace accidents. At the end of the day, workers go from scaffolding to factories. “It does not eliminate occupational risks, but it does allow us to reduce them without giving up technical quality or architectural design,” they claim from The Concrete House.
And what will Madrid do now? The Iberia Loreto 1 experience seems to have been good enough for the City Council to consider taking it further and continuing to support it. “After its success, the municipal company is going to take a decisive leap by promoting the construction of 800 homes developed with this system,” advance from the EMVS before insisting that the city “will continue to advance industrialized public construction.” “It allows us to shorten deadlines, reduce the environmental impact and offer more efficient homes.”
How much do you want to build? Its objective is to raise more than 760 new industrialized public housing. 170 will be built in the districts of Barajas, Moncloa-Aravaca and Villa de Vallecas. The remaining ones will be deployed in Vilcálvaro (Los Ahijones and Los Berrocales) within the framework of the Suma Vivienda Plan, so they will be developed through a public-private collaboration formula.
In total the Consistory assures that in 2026 work will begin on 2,500 new homes for affordable rental through EMVS. To be precise, it talks about 22 new developments in various districts of the capital and remembers the nearly 1,600 apartments in the first phase of the EMVS Suma Vivienda Plan.
Images | Madrid City Council and Municipal Housing and Land Company
In Xataka | The Government wants to put 1,600 public and affordable homes for rent. Rental Insurance wants to keep them
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