ÁRV8 | ÁBATON

Rethinking The Future Award 2020. Category: Housing – up to 5 floors (Built).

Versión Español: https://abaton.es/es/proyectos/arv8/

ARV8 is the tallest building in Madrid constructed with cross-laminated timber panels. However, ÁBATON does not seek to break any records with this project. This construction system represents a step forward towards sustainability in construction since it improves the building's energy efficiency, generates less waste, minimizes the carbon footprint, and achieves more usable space in the same built area.

This 7-story building, constructed with a timber structure, contains three homes, each with a unique configuration that adapts to the needs of its owner. The interior's peculiarity is reflected in a suggestive rhythm of the openings that make up its façade.

ÁBATON incorporates elements that have been a hallmark of its design in this development, such as open, versatile spaces with interior-exterior continuity and minimizing residual spaces. At the same time, the use of wood as a structural material allows it to become a finishing material for ceilings and walls through surface treatment. This, added to its properties as thermal and acoustic insulation and the fact that it is a CO2 sink, means that, used intelligently, wood as a structural element is a way to solve multiple construction and design challenges. Additionally, by using structural wood, the construction is "clothed" with a combination of external insulation (EIFS) of up to 18 cm and/or internal insulation.
The ARV8 building is entirely constructed with certified cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels supported by a concrete foundation and basements. The prefabrication system of these panels, cut with CNC machines, optimizes the use of raw materials, minimizing waste.

The project presents a groundbreaking image within the urban environment where it is located: a facade of corrugated zinc sheet is pierced by openings organized to the rhythm of the interior spaces. ARV8 resorts to finishes of honest materials: wood, stone, or continuous surface finishes shape the language of fluid spaces present in ÁBATON's architecture. The double-height spaces present in some homes are particularly striking, where the presence of the structural wood is manifested in walls and ceilings, which are the friendly face of the building's skeleton.

To complete the construction's energy efficiency, a climate control system by aerothermy was defined in the building, which feeds the underfloor heating or cooling system, as well as the ducted air conditioning system, with low consumption.

Photography: Juan Baraja