The construction of the demonstrative prototype of the SAVASCO project has begun on the campus of the Higher Technical School of Architecture of the Vallès (ETSAV) of the UPC, in Sant Cugat, by COECO and under the direction of ARQBAG.
The prototype will consist of four corners with differentiated construction systems, with the aim of demonstrating and maximizing the versatility of the biospheric materials under investigation by the SAVASCO project.
A premise in the design has been REVERSIBILITY. All the construction of the prototype is dry. The structure of the enclosures has been dissociated for better management of execution times, with a first phase of assembly of the skeleton of a light wooden structure, which will be the support where the different enclosure solutions will be applied.
No new concrete has been used for the prototype and some existing prefabricated pieces on campus have been reused for the foundation. It is to these pieces that the light wooden structure is anchored and where the enclosure samples of the SAVASCO materials to be analyzed will be supported.
In turn, prefabrication has been promoted to optimize execution times and to be able to maximize production in the workshop.
The prototype has been designed so that sample run times can proceed in parallel with the build of the prototype. For this reason, the production of lightweight soil cladding and insulation materials is also being developed in parallel, simultaneously at the COECO and ETSAV facilities.
The PERFECTIBILITY of the prototype was also considered as an opportunity and design parameter, precisely to be able to manage the simultaneous execution times of the different elements that make up the prototype, and in turn, allow the possibility of this prototype being a living research tool, that can evolve over time by housing new material tests, simply by removing the previous enclosures, without the need to disassemble it.
Soon the skeleton and roof of the prototype will be finished, and the different corners of the enclosures will begin to be erected with the samples of the SAVASCO construction systems studied. The inauguration is scheduled for May 6, 2022.
Finally, another of the objectives of the prototype is USEFULNESS, as a demonstrative device of the constructive solutions studied, once its construction is finished and in coexistence with the monitoring, the space will allow hosting classroom activities on campus, to reinforce its pedagogical value from an experiential approach.