The revolution that the LIFE Lugo + Biodinámico will represent is reflected in the Impulso Verde building, the first public building in Galicia built entirely in Galician wood, which will be the first step towards develop the future Multi-Ecological Neighborhood.
With the tender approved and a budget of one million euros, Impulso Verde is “an example of the struggle to reduce the impacts of CO2 emissions by emitting 90% less than concrete and steel buildings (50 tons versus 470), also absorbing 280 tons of emissions. Important figures, if one takes into account that the objective of the climate emergency is to reduce carbon emissions by 7.6% each year and reach zero emissions in 2050″, according to the mayor of Lugo, Lara Méndez.
It is an example of high-tech construction of structural wood in height, the first with Galician wood and four floors and that will open a new economic horizon for the Galician forester.
Last August the tender for the building work was approved, which has a budget of € 1,040,503 and a 15-month execution period. Impulso Verde will have municipal and collective uses and will be a building with almost zero energy and a respectful construction model with no environmental footprint, exportable to any other city in Spain and Europe.
This pioneering building has been conceived with the purpose of becoming a benchmark of the new construction model based on local natural resources, since it uses local wood for its entire structure, creating an alternative construction model to conventional buildings with low energy efficiency.
The objective of this construction model is to minimize the environmental impact, improve the quality of life, boost the Galician forestry sector and initiate a new high-tech production model, which will allow to develop the added value of wood and other autochthonous crops. Galician species wood from sustainable forest management will be used for its construction.
The Multiecological Neighborhood of LIFE Lugo + Biodinámico, which will be developed in A Garaballa, contemplates a series of measures such as the building of structurally built houses in wood, the collection of rainwater for its reuse in the irrigation of green areas and the implementation of a reuse system for waste converted into biomass. Energy saving measures will also be applied with the reorientation of the roads and a recovery of the green areas with native species, such as the Arboretum.
The Biodynamic Plan of the project, presented in 2019, is the basis for planning this Multiecological Neighborhood. The neighborhood also includes the creation of 1,200 homes with wood as a structural element and community green spaces. 45% of the homes will be public, as Mayor Lara Méndez pointed out in the presentation of the plan, to meet the needs of neighbors. For the design and construction of the houses, the inclusion of bioclimatic criteria and energy efficiency will be taken into account.
The promotion of the use of clean materials, products and technologies that reduce polluting and greenhouse gas emissions in the construction sector, as well as reused materials and recycling that contribute to improving efficiency in the use of resources, is one of the main lines of the project. There will also be an impact on the use of wood as a structural element, in the construction of buildings to replace other materials such as steel or concrete, reducing the environmental footprint.
The building Impulso Verde is designed with a system of eucalyptus reticular laminar structures for application on roofs and a radiata pine cross-laminated wood panel for application in a tall building. One of the lines of action of the project, called “Adaptation of Construction Systems with indigenous materials with low incorporated energy and Analysis of other adaptable technologies” incorporates the development of a roof system structural, the Gridshell, made in Eucalyptus globulus. The Gridshell, the first prototype of a reticular sheet, was developed and built as a pilot structure by a team of PEMADE (Universidade de Santiago de Compostela) and it was awarded in Seoul in 2018 in the World Congress of Wood Engineering.
For public use and with permanent activity, Impulso Verde will be a building with almost zero energy consumption, which will produce energy from renewable sources for its own consumption. As soon as it is built, it will be monitored to control its performance and detect, even, if it can produce more energy than it consumes. Its construction model will imply energy consumption savings of 74% compared to existing office buildings and 54% compared to new construction. This building will also emit 90% less CO2 than concrete and steel buildings (50 t compared to 470 t) and will absorb around 280 t of emissions into the atmosphere.
