Into the final of the Green Solutions Awards

The Life Reusing Posidonia project, promoted by IBAVI in collaboration with the Balearic General Directorate of Energy and Climate Change at theCAIB, that has received a European grant from the Life +12 programme, has made it to the final of the Green Solutions Awards organised by Construction21 after winning in the Low Carbon national category.

Help us to make the project known and to expand an efficient and responsible construction!

The Green Solutions Awards are organised by the Construction21 platform. The aim of these awards is to promote sustainable and innovative solutions applied to real buildings.

Such is the case of the 14 Public Housing units in Sant Ferran in Formentera developed by the IBAVI in order to meet the Europe 2020 Strategy targets through a climate change adaptation project.

The Green Solutions Awards jury panel has comprised 11 experts in sustainable construction of buildings and cities who have assessed the Spanish nominations to determine the most inspiring cases. The selection criteria have been the innovative nature and performance of the projects, their cost and reproducibility.

With their choice, the members of the jury are voicing a clear message: to prove to owners and professionals that it is possible to build or refurbish in an alternative manner, contributing tangible and specific solutions. This is what Life Reusing Posidonia is about!

The international final of the Green Solutions Awards 2017 will take place on 15 November in Bonn (Germany) during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 23).

Reducing CO2 in construction

The Life Reusing Posidonia project (the name under which the 14 public housing unit project has been presented) is proving that, outside of the big cities, it is possible to use building systems that are more sustainable from an environmental, economic and social perspective. Eco-friendly industries based on local craftsmanship using Zero Kilometre raw materials available locally and which are slowly disappearing.

In the case of the 14 Public Housing Units in Formentera local resources have been used, such as dry posidonia for insulation purposes, recycled woodwork for interior and exterior carpentry, NHL5 lime mortar for the foundations and hydraulic lime flooring and tiles cooked in a biomass kiln, among others. But other imported materials have also been used, such as FSC certified wood and Ytong cellular concrete blocks to reduce environmental impact.

We have managed:

To reduce CO2 emissions by 50% during the construction of buildings

To reduce useful energy by 75% during the useful life of the building

To reduce water consumption by 60%

To reduce waste production by 50%

In addition to quantifiable factors, the aim of the project is the utmost reduction of the collateral effects of construction , such as labour exploitation in the so-called “third world countries, toxicity inside homes and environmental and social disasters caused by the exploitation of resources, such as uncontrolled tree felling and bauxite mines.