buildings

If the solution to the housing crisis in Spain is “building taller buildings”, Alcalá de Henares has taken it seriously

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If you want to solve your residential deficit and stop the upward spiral of prices, Madrid needs housing. tens of thousands of housing, if we trust the calculations carried out by the real estate sector. With that backdrop in the capital (as in other points of the country) has opened a debate: Should we look up? That is to say, if houses are needed and the buildable land is what it is, has the time come? replant the height of buildings, both in established neighborhoods and in new real estate developments? In Alcalá there are those who believe so. In fact, the birthplace of Cervantes has started the countdown to provide one of the tallest skyscrapers in the community, a tower of almost 30 levels. What has happened? That Alcalá de Henares seems to have unblocked an ambitious real estate project that it had been years on the table: a tower that, once completed, will become one of the tallest residential buildings in the Community of Madrid. The news has revealed it the company Ten Brinke, which has partnered with Invesco Real Estate to carry out the operation. Although not many details of the project have been revealed, it is known that the building will be around 30 floors and will exceed the 300 homeswhich will redefine the skyline of the city and will surpass La Garena, an office tower 17 floors and 71.7 m which now dominates the town’s skyline. There are those who now slide that the new construction will be the first residential skyscraper in Alcalá de Henares and one of the few in the Community of Madrid that exceeds 25 heights. What do we know about the project? In the statement In which he announces the “closing of the operation”, Ten Brinke slips a couple of clues about the future property: it will be residential, it will exceed 300 homes and will have 28 levels in total, a sum of 25 floors in height, the ground floor and two underground levels. Furthermore, Ten Brike clarifies that the developers will bet on a “product mix” formula, including family housing, premium apartments and “spaces aimed at modern living.” Regarding deadlines, he states that the works will start “in the coming weeks”, without outlining a delivery schedule. Has anything else transpired? In recent days the Madrid press has pointed out various details to adults, such as that the objective is for the homes to be used for rental marketthat the tower will be around the 80 meters high and that will be located in the Francisco Anton streetnext to the new GAL neighborhood. The SER chain assures that the project has actually been licensed since 2021. A few years ago was announced an ambitious residential development, the Tower (or garden) Cervantes, with buildings 25 stories high. The Idealista portal even reached advertise The apartments, which were offered from 256,000 euros and also stood out for their common areas, with more than 15,000 m2 of gardens and recreational areas that included an outdoor pool. At that time (2024) the idea was to deliver the first keys towards the summer of 2027. Why is it important? Beyond the relevance of the project and its impact on the Complutense skyline, the tower is important because it will inject 300 new homes in a town that has seen how rents and the price per m2 have become more expensive in recent years, in line with the rest of Madrid. According to the Idealista portal, in February the m2 It cost €2,74419.3% more than in the same month last year. Regarding the rent, the m2 It was rented for €13.7which represents an annual increase (February 2025) of about 12%. The municipality has also seen its registry grow in recent years, going from 193,751 registered in 2018 to more than 203,200 residents, according to the tables of the INE. Images | Ten Brinke In Xataka | Madrid is discovering that there is something more controversial than the ‘tazo’ of garbage: where the hell to put a canton of garbage

The Government wants new buildings to include spaces for bicycles. There are those who warn that it will make housing even more expensive.

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Europe wants its buildings to be increasingly ‘green’, an endeavor that Spain seems willing to take a step further. The Government has reviewed the Technical Building Code (CTE) to apply certain changes that prioritize precisely that: sustainability. If it goes ahead, the new CTE will pay even more attention to the energy efficiency of buildings, their polluting footprint and even proposes using buildings as a lever to promote sustainable mobility. With this last objective, a demand that has generated some controversy: that the properties must include a minimum of places for bikes. From the sector they already warn that the new requirements costs will skyrocket of construction at the worst time, with the price of housing shot. What has happened? That the Government has launched the institutional machinery to modify the CTEthe framework standard that details the basic requirements that buildings must meet. It is not a capricious change. In reality, it is an update that seeks to adapt the code to the guidelines set by Brussels, such as the Directive 2024/1275 of the European Parliament and Council. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda is already advancing that it will be one of the “most ambitious” modifications since the CTE was implemented. What is the objective? The change seeks to give more weight to certain objectives set from Brussels, such as the “energy efficiency of buildings”“environmental sustainability” or control of the polluting footprint during the life cycle of buildings. One of the novelties in fact is the regulation of what European regulations call “global warming potential of buildings”, a way of quantifying the emissions of a property. With the current CTE, the Government also wants to review the anti-fire regulations (the change comes after the tragic fire of Valencia in 2024, which left several deceased) and use real estate as a lever for “sustainable mobility”. After all, buildings also usually include parking spaces. Housing has proposed that these spaces be planned from the beginning to make it easier for those who travel with electric cars, scooters or bikes. And how will he do it? Including a series of guidelines in the CTE. At the moment we have your draftbut it is clear: “Buildings with parking spaces for cars will have a minimum infrastructure that enables the charging of electric vehicles and will have a minimum provision of parking for bicycles.” The text does not stop there and specifies issues such as the minimum number or even the size of the spaces reserved for bikes. What does it say exactly? “Parking spaces for bicycles will have a minimum dimension of 2.00 x 0.4 m. From 20 spaces, 5% of the spaces will have a dimension of 2.5 x 0.9 m for bicycles with dimensions larger than standard, such as long bikes or for people with disabilities. In uses other than private residential, parking spaces will be marked in accordance with the highway code,” collect the text. The draft clarifies that these parking spaces must “preferably” be in the parking lot or the access floor and that, at a minimum, residential properties must incorporate two bicycle spaces for each home. The CTE clarifies in any case that town councils can regulate to reduce this general requirement. Things are somewhat different in properties that are not intended for housing. In them, bicycle parking spaces must cover “5% of the building’s total user capacity.” At what point is the change? What we have at the moment is the draft royal decree that modifies the CTE, a document that was kept on public display until December so that citizens, builders or any other group that wished could raise their “observations.” Once this mandatory requirement has been dispatched, the CTE must now continue with its processing, including, if the Government so deems it, the proposed corrections. If we talk about the guidelines on bicycle spaces (and in general the “sustainable mobility” chapter of the project) it is important to take into account a nuance: the changes are proposed for newly built buildings. The project It also contemplates that the guidelines be applied to existing properties, but only when they have undergone substantial renovations, extensions or changes of use. Has it generated controversy? It has certainly generated debate. And the reason is simple: there are those who already warn that, in general, the different changes applied to the CTE will make construction more expensive at the worst moment, in the midst of the housing crisis and with prices (especially rents) skyrocketing. Recently the College of Surveyors of Madrid did the math and estimated that in general the new CTE requirements (not only those related to bicycle spaces) will translate into thousands of euros of extra cost. How many? In a first phase, the new houses will become 12,000 euros more expensive. And that will only be at the beginning. When they are fully implemented, the extra cost will be even greater and will reach 18,000, making it even more complicated. the “cost of entry” to the homes. Images | Alexander Van Steenberge (Unsplash) and Liona Toussaint (Unsplash) In Xataka | Communities and neighbors have been wondering all their lives whether bikes can be parked in the hallways. The law leaves little doubt

A man rented two asbestos-filled buildings for 99 years. They were the Twin Towers, and six weeks later he made a fortune with 9/11

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There are stories that seem like an urban legend because they fit too well with a movie script: a contract signed at the last minute, an invisible risk that no one wanted to look at in the face, and finally an event that changes everything. That’s why the story of an investor who decided attack to a ruinous business, it does not seem real, and the truth is that it was. A contract changed its meaning forever. In July 2001, the businessman Larry Silverstein signed the rent or lease at 99 years of the iconic World Trade Center complex, a deal then valued at around $3.2 billion that gave it operational control of a global symbol. Everything was more or less normal if it weren’t for the fact that a few weeks later 9/11 arrived and that business movement became a almost impossible story to tell without it sounding like a script: the “greatest real estate trophy” in Manhattan became the epicenter of the largest attack on American soil, with all that it implied in losses, contractual liability and clash with the State, public opinion and, above all, insurers. A ruinous business. The World Trade Center was not just any building, it was a logistical monster with expensive maintenance, complex technical decisions and a typical legacy of the great construction of the 20th century: asbestos, used for years as part of “fireproofing” projected onto steel and other materials, and which ended up being a problem health and economic huge for countless homeowners. In the case of the Towers, the use of materials with asbestos in construction phases, especially on the ground and middle floors of the North Tower, and that reality turned any renovation into a minefield of costs, controls and legal risks. In practice, the iconic value coexisted with an asset that was difficult to manage: expensive to maintain, delicate to intervene and with a liability that forced us to think about insurance as if it were part of the structure. Larry Silverstein The key insurance. When the complex collapsed, the debate stopped being “what happened” and became “what exactly does what was signed cover”, and there appears the detail that explains years of judicial war: at the time of the attack not all the definitive policies were closed, and part of the coverage rested on preliminary documents and debatable conditions. This allowed insurers cling to certain definitions and Silverstein to argue that the contractual framework should be read in the way that most protected its financial position. It was not a theoretical discussion, it was the difference between being ruined or having the resources to continue, rebuild and politically survive the earthquake that came after the disaster. The war of a word. The heart of the case was whether 9/11 counted as a single insured event or as two different events, since two planes and two towers were impacted. Silverstein defended that the terrorist attack was actually two attacks separated and, therefore, two events, one in each insured building, which justified aiming for figures close to double the “per occurrence” limit. The insurers, on the other hand, tried to fix it as a single event so as not to duplicate the exposure. The courts did not leave a clean and single ending, but rather a panorama divided into blocks: for some sections and insurers, interpretation was imposed of “an occurrence”and for others the door was opened to consider it two, creating a possible high compensation ceiling, but not necessarily automatic. The final amount. In the popular narrative it has been repeated that the man “tried to charge double” and that is essentially true, because his claims came to be raised in the around 7,000 million of dollars under the logic of two events. It turns out that the real framework was narrower: the total coverage “per occurrence” (building) moved around of the 3.2–3.5 billion and the litigation was cutting, distributing and limiting the maximum exposure according to which insurers fell under which definition. In practical terms, the story was not “he got paid twice and that’s it,” but rather that “he fought for two, partially won, and the system left him in a middle ground” that for years became in the great suspense Financial of Ground Zero. The big deal. After almost six years of battle and litigation, the outcome that mattered above the headlines was reached: an extrajudicial agreement of no less than 2 billion dollars with seven insurers announced with the intervention of the governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer, and the state superintendent of insurance, Eric R. Dinallo. That pact was presented as closing all claims pending and, above all, as the elimination of the last great barrier so that the publicized reconstruction of the complex could advance without the permanent brake of judicial uncertainty. Beyond the number, the key was the effect: resources and clarity to fulfill obligations and continue building in a place where each delay was a political, economic and symbolic problem at the same time. How it was distributed. The agreement was not a single check with a single destination, because in the same two actors lived together: the Port Authority as the public owner of the site and Silverstein himself as the private tenant and developer. The agreed distribution left approximately 56% for Silverstein and 44% for the Port Authority, and a direct implicit message: it was not about “getting rich” in a conventional sense, but about sustaining a project that had been tied to contracts, commitments and reconstruction. Furthermore, the confidentiality about how much each insurer paid separately reinforced the typical idea of ​​these endings: a functional closure to be able to turn the page and (re)build. The real story behind the myth. I counted ago a few years Snopes all the hoaxes that were given around the fascinating Silverstein story. Legend often tells it as an almost obscene stroke of luck, but the reality is more uncomfortable: Silverstein signed a huge lease just before the disaster, yes, … Read more

Spain is filling up with buildings with pets. The Horizontal Property Law clarifies what to do when they cause nuisance

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It comes with going outside to check it out. Spain is increasingly a country of dogs and cats than of babies. Literally. about a year ago The World did the math and it turned out that there are 1.8 million children under four years old for 10.5 million pets, which leaves a ratio of almost six animals per infant. This is perceived in the economy, society, cities… and of course the neighborhood communities, where it is not strange that a question arises: ¿What the law says about pets living in apartment blocks? In case of discomfort, noise, dirt… What does the regulations provide? Are there so many pets? Yes. Although it is not easy to compile accurate statistics on pets, there are two sources that help us get a precise idea of ​​the extent to which we have opened our homes to dogs, cats, reptiles, rodents, fish, birds and other fauna. The first is the REIACwhose census is based on microchipped pets. At least in 2023 it added 9.2 million dogs and 1.2 million cats. If we base ourselves on Anfaac, the association of feed manufacturers, your latest data They speak of 6.9 million dogs, 4.9 million cats, five million fish, 3.2 birds, 740,000 reptiles and 548,000 small mammals, which raises the general count of pets above the 20 million of animals. The big question, especially when we talk about pets of a certain size, that run around and must go outside several times a day, as is the case with dogs, is… What happens when they cause disturbances inside a building? When it comes to communities of owners, the reference standard is the Horizontal Property Law (LPH), a law that does not address the issue directly, but does establish a valuable framework, especially in its articles 7.2 and 9.1, which recall the coexistence guidelines that neighbors must respect. Article 7.2 of the LPH: “The owner and occupant of the apartment or premises are not allowed to carry out activities in it or in the rest of the property that are prohibited in the statuses, that are harmful to the property or that contravene the general provisions on annoying, unhealthy, harmful, dangerous or illicit activities”. Article 9 of the LPH: “The obligations of each owner are: to respect the general facilities of the community and other common elements, whether they are for general or private use of any of the owners, whether or not they are included in their apartment or premises, making appropriate use of them and preventing damage or damage from being caused”. The regulations themselves also remind us that, in the event that a neighbor is carrying out annoying activities (which in this case can be transferred to your pet), the community president should ask you to correct them. If that does not happen and the problem persists, the case may end up being taken to court. Although the LPH is a key tool, other standards come into play in this case. The reason is simple. When we talk about pets and neighborhood communities, two different planes overlap. On the one hand, there is the right that everyone has to enjoy their home freely. On the other hand, there is the necessary coexistence between apartments and the shared enjoyment of community areas. The first thing, the enjoyment of the home, is regulated the Constitutionwhich among other issues protects its “inviolability” and private property. Regarding the second, coexistence within the building, it is normal that it is regulated by the statuses of the community. And although this document cannot prohibit owners to have pets at home (a different thing is the tenants and what appears in their rental contracts), the internal rules of a block can establish certain limits when using collective spaces, such as elevators, gardens or swimming pools. Therefore, it is advisable to consult what the statutes say about pets. For example, they may prohibit dogs from being walked off-leash in the building. What there is no doubt about is that if the animal causes any damage, the owner is responsible. It is clearly established by the Civil Code in his article 1905in which he remembers who should assume the responsibility (and costs) if a dog, cat or other animal causes damage outside your home. Article 1905 of the Civil Code: “The owner of an animal, or the one who uses it, is responsible for the damage it causes, even if it escapes or is lost. This responsibility will only cease in the event that the damage came from force majeure or the fault of the person who suffered it.”. The Animal Welfare Law also sets guidelines related to the care of pets at home, which in turn influences the conditions in which they must live, both in houses and in apartments within buildings. For a start (article 27.i) No pet can be left unsupervised for more than three days in a row, a period that is reduced to 24 consecutive hours if we are talking about dogs. The rule also prohibits dogs and cats from living permanently on terraces or balconies, which is considered a “serious infringement”. Image | Eri Gonzales (Unsplash) In Xataka | The Horizontal Property Law is quite clear about one of the most conflictive phenomena of winter: Christmas

They have found a way to turn tall buildings into batteries. And that makes Benidorm our best asset

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The sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow, what do we do if there is no renewable energy when we need to turn on the lights? Normally, pulling lithium batteries either pumped hydroelectric plants. But cities that build vertically like Benidorm have another untapped option. In short. A comprehensive University of Waterloo study has shown that the height of buildings can be used to create a system of gravity energy storage. An idea that transforms cities built in height into a huge device to store and release energy at will. Mechanical batteries. The concept is, in essence, very simple. It is made up of a heavy mass (concrete or steel blocks), a system of pulleys and cables similar to that of an elevator, and a motor that also works as a generator. The operation is as follows. When there is a surplus of energy, for example at midday, when the building’s solar panels are at full capacity, the motor uses that electricity to lift heavy dough along a vertical gaplike that of an elevator. Electrical energy is converted into potential energy. When electricity is needed and renewables are not producing, at night or on a day without wind, the mass is dropped in a controlled manner. The force of gravity does the rest: the descending weight moves the generator, which converts the potential energy back into electricity ready to use. Tested successfully. The researchers propose this system as the heart of a hybrid energy ecosystem integrated into the building itself, which includes photovoltaic panels on facades, small wind turbines on the roof and backup lithium-ion batteries. As pointed out PV Magazinecompanies such as the Scottish Gravitricity have already demonstrated the viability of this technology with functional prototypes and have full-scale commercial projects of 4 and 8 MW underway. Energy is generated with the sun and the wind. Gravity acts as the main battery for daily storage, managing large charge and discharge cycles. Is it viable? To test whether their idea was more than just an interesting theory, the University of Waterloo team ran a massive simulation. They analyzed 625 different building designs, varying parameters such as height, the shape of the floor plan (more square or more elongated) and the energy efficiency of the building. The results are very promising. The system (facade solar panels + small wind power + gravity storage + a battery support) achieved a levelized cost of electricity of between 0.051 and 0.111 dollars per kWh. This figure is very competitive, and even improves the costs of other renewable energy systems integrated into buildings located in areas with moderate solar or wind resources. And taller buildings with larger floor plans benefit the most, so Benidorm It is our best asset. Image | Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 3.0) In Xataka | Finland has found a cheap way to store energy all winter: a tower of 2,000 tons of sand

Someone has analyzed 136 million buildings threatened by rising sea levels. And there are reasons to worry

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One of the biggest threats we have as a society is undoubtedly rising sea levels. A process that is slow, but that can end up changing the mental maps that we now have from world geography to finish coastal areas of some regions completely flooded. Something that a study wanted to shed light on analyzed building by building flood risk in the Global South. And the result is alarming. The study. Published in npj Urban Sustainabilityis the first to analyze the impact on this scale in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America. “The rise in sea level is a slow but unstoppable consequence of the global warming that is already impacting coastal populations and will continue for centuries,” explains Natalya Gomez, co-author of the study. The numbers. The study analyzes the exposure of buildings to different levels of local sea level rise (LSLR), regardless of a specific time scale. This allows the findings to remain relevant as climate projections are updated. In this case the data is quite compelling. First of all, with just 0.5 meters of sea level rise, 3 million buildings would be submerged under the sea. Something that is inevitable right now, even if the most ambitious emissions cuts on the table are applied. If we talk about a five-meter rise in sea level, a scenario that could occur in several hundred years if emissions do not stop, the exposure would skyrocket to 45 million buildings. And in the most extreme case, with a 20-meter rise in the LSLR, the figure would reach 136 million buildings. How it was done. To achieve this level of detail, the scientific team combined several cutting-edge technologies. They used the database Google Open Buildings V2which identifies the location and outline of billions of buildings by analyzing satellite images. This data was cross-referenced with FABDEM, a digital global elevation model that, thanks to machine learning, removes the height of trees and buildings themselves to obtain the true elevation of the “bare ground.” This is crucial to not underestimate the risk of flooding. Finally, they adjusted the calculations using a global tidal model to reflect the water level during high tide, thus providing a more realistic estimate of the danger. Uneven impact. The risk is not the same in all regions, since the study reveals that in the early stages of sea level rise, Africa is the continent with the highest number of buildings affected. However, as the LSLR intensifies, Southeast Asia quickly comes to dominate the flood figures. A key finding is the non-linear nature of the threat. Building loss is relatively high below two meters LSLR, but accelerates dramatically between 2 and 4 meters. Professor Jeff Cardile, co-author of the study, points out that “we were surprised by the large number of buildings at risk from relatively modest long-term sea level rise.” This means that we are not facing a problem that is gradually worsening, but rather one that could reach tipping points with devastating consequences. Many of these buildings are located in low-altitude, high-density areas, affecting entire neighborhoods and critical infrastructure such as ports, refineries, and cultural heritage enclaves. Planning. Beyond the global warning, the study seeks to be a useful tool. Researchers have created an interactive map available through Google Earth which allows policy makers and urban planners to visualize which regions face the greatest exposure. And on this map you will be able to see, building by building, the risk of ending up below sea level as a consequence of climate change. A global problem. Although this study has focused on the effects that will occur in Africa or Asia, the reality is that it is a problem that affects us all. As the study points out, all of us depend on food, goods and fuel that pass through ports and coastal infrastructure that are exposed to this rise in sea level. Thus, disruption of this infrastructure can cause disruption with serious economic consequences globally. That is why this tool can guide climate adaptation strategies, such as the construction of protective infrastructure, the adjustment of land use planning or, in some cases, the planned relocation of communities. As Maya Willard-Stepan, lead author of the study, concludes: “We cannot escape at least a moderate amount of sea level rise. The sooner coastal communities start planning, the more likely they are to continue to thrive.” Images | Chris Gallagher Marc Pell In Xataka | In the midst of climate change, cities only have one question to answer: become a sponge or a mousetrap

All new construction buildings are becoming the same building

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It doesn’t matter that you live in Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao, Grenade, Malaga either Vigoto name just a handful of cities. If you take a walk through the majority of municipalities in Spain, it is more than likely to meet the same picture: white and black residential buildings. The chromatic sobriety taken to the extreme seems to send among the blocks of New construction. Even in rehabilitations in which the facades are formed. It might seem a simple fashion issue, but – without discarding that factor – reality is a lot more complex and rich in nuances. So … why so many black and white buildings? The trend is already Some time Besting, but it has spread to such an extent and with such force that today all cities can be found in (almost). Populous cities of the size of Madrid either Valencia. And others with less population, such as A Coruña, Cáceres either Grenade. If new construction promotions are reviewed, it seems that almost all have come out of the same Architecture study. Black and White Mandate. As in his day he did the caravista brick. It is not necessary to leave home and travel the cities of the country to check it. Arrives with a look at the catalog of promoters such as Aedas Homes, Neinor Homes, Celere, Metrovacesa either Real estate habitat. There are exceptions, of course; But if we had to identify a trend in its portfolios and infographics is precisely that: the recurring use of whites, blacks and gray tones. Tax, tastes … and much more Made of tastes and fashions? It is an explanation. In 2023 the newspaper Herald He wondered Why in the neighborhoods of Zaragoza with a significant number of new buildings seemed to be repeated again and again the same picture: facades that combine white, black and dark gray. To clear the unknown he consulted with Grupo Lobe, behind one of the new buildings in the Aragonese capital that had opted for that combination: black, white and, where appropriate, an anthracite gray. And while the firm pointed to several factors, one of them is pure aesthetic. “There is another issue that we consider that it is the taste of the people. We are clear that attracts black and white, or very dark gray,” Álvaro Van Horenbeke saidarchitect of the firm. “For other more unique projects, other tones are used, but in general this combination is easier for it not to become timeless.” Other voices in the sector talk about the desire to “Generate dualities”a commitment to white linked to Modern movement or the simple taste for black and dark gray, such as anthracite or RAL 7016. That the commitment to black and white has spread so strongly does not respond to a simple issue of fashion or the search for an aesthetic as “timeless” possible. Black and white are not any chromatic options, as Van Horenbeke himself recognized. Aesthetic values apart, both are key in a strictly practical aspect: their behavior to reflect either absorb sunlight, which in turn influences temperature. The use of white can be so strategic that there are university researchers dedicated to Find the variety more “pure” possible – the whiter white – to improve its ability to reflect and use it in paintings capable of cooling surfaces that permeate below environmental values. Moreover, there are still the curl there are scientists who They have theorized On the advantages that it would have for the planet covering 2% of the land surface of “ultrabranco”. The architect Pedro Torrijos points another key to understanding the enormous popularity of black and white, which extends even to the reforms: the search for a more effective thermal insulation. The disseminator also remembers the great popularity of the SateThermal insulation systems on the outside that basically They consist in the installation of a thermal insulation on the outer walls of a building to improve thermal performance. By way of finishing Revoco or plates coatings with ceramics or stone can be used. It does not condition black and white, but that is a bet that has gained popularity against more risky ones. “The promoters are conservative.” There is an old adage that says ‘if something works … Why change it?’ That is another of the possible explanationseven simpler: if black and white buildings work in the market, why risk doing something that generates rejection? From the collective Madrid projects They remember that in the sector there are large companies that bet on formulas and studies that are already known to them. “There are few promoters who do a lot of work. They do it a bit in series,” they ironize. Chromatic sobriety is also associated with minimalism, although Madrid projects recognizes that repeating a recurrent formula as happened in its day with bricks causes a risk: “saturation.” “If you want to make a new image you can do it with brick and shapes, but it is normal to go to a more technological material. On the other hand, in Spain everything that has color sounds to social housing,” They pointed Three years ago since the Hisplelyt firm To the opinion of A Coruña. “In the end, 99% of the promotions look for something quiet, so they are sure that it will sell well. They only ask us for color and give some vidilla when we make students residences.” To better understand the phenomenon, Madrid projects slides another even more striking concept: “Buildings cream cake”. The expression helps to understand the success that works in black and white have achieved. The idea is to lift simple buildings to which a layer is then added to “generate a certain volume feeling”, as is the case in pastry with the cream. “To give a more chic touch, these slabs are given,” they say from the collective before aiming their advantages for example to “hide” small windows or other details. “It’s a beautiful finish,” they abound. The idea connects with another concept: that of “marketing architecture”. “These … Read more

The material created in China that lowers the temperature of the buildings without consuming a single electricity watt

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A world where buildings are not only well isolated from abroad, but cool them as much as an air conditioning, without consuming a single electricity watt. That is what a team of Chinese and Australian scientists promises with their new bioplastic material. Short. Researchers at the University of Zhengzhou and the University of Australia del Sur presented a biodegradable film capable of cooling buildings without using electricity. According to a study published in Cell Reports Physical Sciencethis coating can reduce the temperature of a surface to 9.2 ° C in full sun. 9 degrees less. In the material field tests, carried out on a Zhengzhou roof, east of China, the results were overwhelming. In full sun, during noon, the material reached a cooling peak of 9.2 ° C below the ambient temperature. The average tests was -4.9 ° C during the day and -5.1 ° C during the night, which is equivalent to a cooling power of up to 136 watts per square meter. The film takes advantage of a known phenomenon, “passive radiative cooling” (PRC). In a nutshell, it is a lining designed to do two things: reflect sunlight so as not to heat up, and emit internal heat outwards. But it does it in an extremely efficient way. According to the simulations presented by the researchers, apply this film on the roofs of a city like Lhasa, in the Tibet, would reduce annual cooling consumption up to 20.3%. How it works. The “metaphilm” is made of polyactic acid, better known as Pla plastic; A material derived from plant sources such as corn or sugarcane, so it is biodegradable. The turn is how researchers managed to create a porous and continuous structure through a novel phase separation technique at low temperature. This microstructure has an ultrabaja thermal conductivity (of 0.049 w/m · k) and reflects almost all the solar radiation that affects it (98.7%), avoiding the initial heating and heat transfer to the interior. It also emits heat abroad thanks to its porosity. The manufacturing process is relatively simple: the PL is dissolved in chloroform, crystallizes at -20 ° C and then ethanol is used to induce phase separation before drying the film. This method is suitable for large -scale production, which paves the path for commercialization. More resistant than other attempts. One of the great challenges of previous radiative cooling materialsespecially biodegradables, it was their durability. But this new coating has demonstrated exceptional durability. The researchers submerged him in acid for 120 hours and then exposed him to ultraviolet radiation equivalent to eight months of weathering exposure. Surprisingly, the material not only survived, but maintained a cooling performance between 5 ° C and 6.5 ° C below the ambient temperature after the hard aging process. The team attributes it to its high crystallinity, which gives it a thermal and chemical stability much higher than that of its predecessors. The applications go far beyond the roofs of the buildings. Researchers already explore their use in transport, to cool vehicles, agriculture, to protect crops, electronics and even the biomedical field, to apply to dressings that regulate the temperature. Images | Yangzhe Hou et al. In Xataka | With the electric consumption triggered by the air conditioning, Singapore has had an idea: buildings that “sweat”

With the electric consumption triggered by the air conditioning, Singapore has had an idea: buildings that “sweat”

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Fresh news: it’s hot. A lotand it doesn’t look like This summer is going to give us a break. Bet on Fans or by him air-conditioning It is a solution, but there is a problem: temperatures will continue to increase and Electricity consumed by air conditioning devices It is a problem. Urgently Find passive solutionsand Singapore may have found the key thanks to a new painting. Your secret? Makes buildings “sweat.” Short. In 2022, air conditioning represented 7% of world electricity consumption. The estimate It is that, by 2050, that electrical consumption triggers up to 20%. In order to cool buildings, there are already researchers who are experiencing with heat dissipation solutions to create fresher environments without the need for air conditioning, such as The nanomaterials or a Botijo ​​technology nut rotation. Although we are seeing how to make the air conditioners are more efficient. But there is an easier solution that could be applied to already built buildings: a layer of paint. The Insulating paint It already exists, with examples Like the ultrabrabas developed by the University of Purdue that reflects Up to 98% of the light to maintain surfaces up to 7ºC fresher than other solutions, even under direct sunlight. Now, in Singapore they have developed a painting that mimics the sweating for which we regulate our temperature. Buildings that “sweat”. As we read in Sciencenewsa group of researchers from the Technological University of Nanyang is the responsible of a painting baptized as CCP-30 and what has special is not a color, but its operation. It is developed based on cement and combines three cooling strategies: radiative, reflection and evaporative (the latter, the one that uses our skin). And it works like an organism that sweats. The porous structure of the paint can retain up to 30% of its weight in water, which slowly releases the environment. It’s like the function of air conditioning dehumidificationbut passively. By absorbing water and dissipating heat, the released steam is cooler, contributing to cool the environment. SUV. If the sensation can be similar to that produced with ultrabrabic paint, why invest resources in replicating something that already exists? The main reason is that this ultra -ABANCA painting that reflects heat does not work at all well in Wet environmentssuch as Singapore itself, but also in Thailand and other areas where the moisture percentage is important. This reflected light is trapped by water vapor in the environment, and in large cities the creation of heat spotlights is encouraged. Come on, which contributes to embarrassment. The new porous painting, when not working by reflecting light and heat, does not have this problem and allows the buildings to be correctly isolated, fulfilling that passive cooling function. Promising. To hold their arguments, the researchers painted three houses with different types of paintings. One with a common white paint, another with a commercial painting that only uses radiative cooling and another with its new “sweat” painting. After two years exposed to the sun, rain and humidity of Singapore, while the first two became yellowish, the new formula continued with its white color. That is important not so much for aesthetics, but to continue being efficient reflecting the light. In addition, being prepared to absorb moisture, it does not crack, being another advantage. On the other hand, the house painted with CCP-30 reflected between 88% and 92% of sunlight even when it was wet, and emitted 95% of the heat it absorbed. Tandem with air conditioning. CCP-30 is designed to cover the outside of buildings, not homes or interior areas, acting as a first shield to combat heat. According to the area, the use of air-conditioning It will continue to be necessary to endure high temperatures, but researchers claim that a house covered with its new painting meant between 30% and 40% less use of air conditioning. It does not stop turning the building into a botijo. In the end, as we said, the use of paintings against heat is nothing new, but renewed formulas can help not only to refresh interiors, but to eliminate those urban heat spotlights in cities with a high percentage of moisture, calls “Heat islands”And the good thing about being a painting and not something that require a new construction It can be applied to existing structures without complex reform. I only ask that this type of painting arrives soon, but it is nice to know that passive ways of refrigerating households are being investigated, such as the Cement developed by the Public University of Navarra. Images | Ibrahim Guetar, Chromatograph In Xataka | If you want to drink an frozen coffee to fight heat, science has something to tell you: better not

China is moving whole buildings at the same time to build underneath. Because? Because it can

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In China The buildings are. Literally. No matter how heavy and large that they are or if it is delicate brick and wood constructions raised a century ago. When it is necessary, the country’s engineers manage so that their houses are “lifted” and begin to “walk” slowly through the streets. It sounds crazy, but it is a technique that They have been polishing and allows them something key: respect their assets without stopping the development of parkings or commercial areas. The last example has left Shanghai, who has managed to walk A group of buildings which occupies 4,030 m2 and around 7,500 metric tons. Open step to the building. Chinese media, like People Daily, China Daily either Xinhuathey have been publishing these days a video and photos at least curious: in them it can be seen how a group of buildings, almost an apple, moves in block throughout several meters, just like in a huge game of tetris. Moveing ​​buildings is nothing new. In Spain it is also done. But the usual thing is that the architects are responsible for listing, disassembling and re -assembling the facades, do not displace entire buildings as if they were on a tape. Click on the image to go to Tweet. A figure: 7,500 tons. The block in question is formed by old Shikumen buildings Raised in Shanghai a century ago and their data give an idea of ​​the enormous logistics and technical challenge that involves moving them in a piece: According to the Chinese pressthe complex, known as “Huayanli” and which is composed of three brick and wood structures, measures 4,030 m2 and weighs 7,500 tons. The construction is found in Zhangyuan, in the Jing´an district, Shanghai. What have they moved for? To build under the ground. Chinese authorities decided to relocate that mole to facilitate the works of an underground three -story complex Zhangyuanan ambitious project, of just over 53,000 m2, which will include commercial and cultural areas, a parking lot with a hundred parking spaces and connections with several lines of the Shanghai meter. It is not the first time that China moves large buildings from one point to another. In 2024 We already told you which was displacing Shikumen housing raised in the early twentieth century in Jing´an. One of those blocks came to “travel” the a whopping 230 m, much more than other similar operations carried out before in the country, such as the temple of the Jade Buddha of Shanghai, which, which 30.6 m movedor the Hankau Yiyong Fire Association building, which 90 m slide On rails. But … why move them? That is the million dollar question. If the objective is to look for new locations or temporarily comply with the buildings while the operators work in the area, as is the case of the houses of Jing´an, why move them from a piece? Why don’t they disassemble stone by stone? Logistic, preservation and separate time issues, there is a fundamental element: Huayanli is built with brick and wood, in the line of the Shijumen buildingsan architectural style that emerged around the 1860s, closely associated with Shanghai and combines Western and Chinese elements. The idea of ​​engineers is to “lift it” without causing damage, move it and then return it to its original location, an operation that It is ready to complete. The key: 430 small robots. At this point the question is obvious … How have Chinese engineers manage to move a block of 7,500 tons houses? The key are 432 small robots. The company responsible for the work resorted to drilling devices that can be handled at a distance and move through narrow spaces, which facilitates work in the foundations. To avoid scares with collision points or structural problems, the team also handled Construction Information Modeling (BIM) and scan of points clouds, which allowed him to work based on 3D planes. I walk slowly, walk safe. Another of their resources was to use robots designed for the movement of land and endowed with folding mechanical arms that allow them to work in very small spaces, less than 1.2 m wide, also distinguishing clay or different obstacles. When it comes to displacing the constructions, the experts designed different routes. The task, of course, is not suitable for impatient: since May 19 Huayanli has mode 10 m per day. Image | Xinhua In Xataka | In China there are scratching size ships sailing thousands of kilometers from the sea. All thanks to your cranes

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