Refurbish a 42-home multi-family building in the heart of Barcelona's historic centre, reducing energy demand and substantially improving thermal and acoustic comfort for occupants, while accommodating the heritage and construction constraints typical of a consolidated context such as Ciutat Vella.

HAUS Healthy Buildings supported the developer and the architecture team through a consultancy focused on energy efficiency and comfort. The strategies concentrated on improving the thermal envelope, controlling acoustic transmission between homes and from the outside, and optimising the existing building's passive systems, prioritising solutions compatible with the refurbishment of a building in a dense urban setting.

The work was documented home by home to ensure traceability of the technical decisions and maximise the impact of each intervention on energy demand and occupant wellbeing.

Refurbishment of 42 homes in Ciutat Vella delivered in 2020 with a significant reduction in energy demand and a substantial improvement in thermal and acoustic comfort. The project shows that refurbishing residential heritage in the centre of Barcelona is compatible with today's standards of efficiency and wellbeing.