GAIA Project Luis De Garrido

Luis De Garrido GAIA Proyect

The GAIA Project is a project of architectural innovation managed by the National Association for Sustainable Architecture (ANAS) and designed by Luis De Garrido, that aims to build the 7 most advanced green houses in Spain, thereby providing a reference for the design and rehabilitation of ecological, bioclimatic and self-sufficient (water, energy and food) houses. Moreover, these 7 houses should represent the 3 sectors of the construction required and that more should be enhanced in the future.

  1. Ecological and bioclimatic rehabilitation of existing buildings
  2. Construction of ecological and bioclimatic social housing
  3. Construction of unique ecological buildings

The most important features of the 7 exemplary houses are as follows:

  1. Low cost
  2. High ecological level
  3. Minimum energy consumption and high energy efficiency
  4. Bioclimatic design very effective
  5. Minimum technological equipment
  6. Using healthy, ecological and non-emissive materials
  7. Industrialized and prefabricated components
  8. Dry building assembly system, easily removable
  9. Ability to recuperate, repair and reuse components.
  10. High thermal inertia
  11. Singular Design

The GAIA project will be developed in the period between 2010 and 2020, in 4 different cities in Spain.

GAIA 1. Rehabilitation of an advanced detached house. Valencia
GAIA 2. Rehabilitation of a flat in a block. Valencia
GAIA 3. Single family medium budget (prefabricated). Alicante
GAIA 4. Single family low budget (prefabricated). Madrid
GAIA 5. Very low budget minimal house (with containers). Barcelona
GAIA 6. House made of waste. Madrid
GAIA 7. House of very small size (with containers). Barcelona

Goals

Available resources, excellent weather and a good structure of the system of cities in Spain allow its population reaches 80 million inhabitants without major social or environmental problems. Spain remains one of the most important tourist and cultural destinations in the world, and the final destination of many people who decide to change their country for a better life. That means that construction activity will remain for a long time one of the most important pillars of the Spanish economy.

However, the current situation of the construction sector in Spain has revealed that the type of housing that the developer wants to do (constructive precariousness, low quality and high profitability) does not match the type of housing that society needs (more economical, flexible and ecological). Similarly, there is evidence that the benefits of the promoter should be limited in some way, as well as bank financing mechanisms, and land speculation, as these factors have been responsible for the huge current housing bubble, as well as the existing major financial and social crisis that has paralyzed construction activity. Without doubt, the activity of the construction sector in the coming years should pursue a radically different pattern to that followed in the recent past.

It is therefore necessary to show society new architectural projects, new construction and new forms of promotion strategies. And for this nothing better than visitable prototypes as models to follow in order to achieve affordable, ecological, energy-efficient and healthy habitats, with a human and modern design able to meet our present needs.