Porta Trinitat is a new multifunctional complex of facilities that is located at the entrance to Barcelona along Las Rondas and Av. Meridiana, near the Nudo de la Trinitat. The scale of the urban periphery conditions the place, promoting an introspective design, both of the urban complex and of the buildings. The volumes are arranged in two strips that take the direction of the two main avenues, Meridiana and Carretera de Ribes, generating an interior plaza. The first to be built, the Casal d’Entitats i Center de Serveis Socials, renounces occupying the entire floor, fragmenting one of the bars to open the interior space of the square, creating a free subspace for open-air cinema. The building is voluntarily abstract and simple in order to be able to coexist with the future buildings of the complex, still to come.

In this intimate and preserved interior of the block, we wanted to create a comfortable place, at the back of the square. A public house, a casal, that welcomes people from Sant Andreu and Nou Barris, with different needs. A wooden building where people feel at home.

The interior of the building is organized around two patios that provide light and ventilation. The entrance hall is a generous space that acts as a foyer for the function room and can host various activities and exhibitions. There is the reception and the canteen. The first floor is a center for social services and a point of care for women. On the rest of the floors there are offices and rooms for neighborhood entities and associations.

Wood is a warm material in a hostile urban environment. It absorbs CO2 throughout its useful life, resulting in a very low environmental impact due to its carbon footprint. Due to its low weight, it has no thermal inertia, which is why we mobilize the inertia of the ground. We took advantage of the land clearing from the hillside excavation to bury some tubes through which clean air circulates, before erecting the building.

The air that circulates through the buried tubes, once tempered by the subsoil, is released into the two covered patios, which function as large air ducts. It is a renewed air, fresh in summer or warm in winter, thus reflecting an ancient Mediterranean tradition. Since it is a sufficiently comfortable air, around 17 or 18ºC all year round, the energy expenditure to air condition it is very low. Only on the harshest days of winter or summer will it be necessary to treat it lightly to achieve the comfort temperature. In addition, the roof generates 60,000W of electrical power per year, through photovoltaic panels, placing consumption very close to zero.

The staircase is located between the two patios and receives light and ventilation. The rooms are organized around the central core and can be easily redistributed, since they capture the air of renewal through the facades of the patios, through strips that act like the gills of a fish.

Photographs © José Hevia / © Adrià Goula.  Texts © haz arquitectura