Inclusion of environmentalisation, industrialization and health criteria in the public works tender for the provision of social housing. Biohabitat! with the DiBA

The Diputació de Barcelona has drawn up specifications for the public tender for social housing with environmental criteria (sustainability and energy efficiency), industrialization and health.

Biohabitat! She was responsible for the health part of the specifications, the drafting of which was led by Societat Orgànica.

The aim is to contribute resources to the municipal world through the training of its technicians in a global vision that allows them to apply these criteria facing all the phases of the promotion process: bidding, drafting of the project, work and, attention here we do have a new bet, the use phase!

The administration’s challenge is to achieve ‘environmentally neutral homes, quick to build, easy to maintain and friendly to people’.

The environmentalization criteria (sustainability and energy efficiency) are developed on the following environmental quality parameters: energy, water, materials, construction waste and site sustainability.

The industrialization criteria are developed taking into account: the percentage of the PEM executed offsite, the manufacture of complete 2d or 3d modules, dimensional coordination and interchangeability, circularity in the management of materials and industrial production and quality.

The health criteria are developed on the following parameters: indoor air, hygrothermal conditions, lighting, acoustics, sound and vibrations, electroclimate, materials, environment and promotion of movement.

In the case of health, the action framework is based on the premise that the optimal habitat for people is nature, specifically the outer space.

The genus homo appeared on the planet 2.8 million years ago, homo sapiens, us, 300,000 years ago. Of all these 2.8 million years, homos have spent most of their time outside. Only about 225 years ago, with the industrial revolution, a trend to spend more time indoors slowly began. Currently, and only in some societies like ours, it is considered that we spend 90% of our time indoors (homes, work, leisure, transport…).

But human metabolism is adapted to life outside and in contact with nature… In order to achieve a healthy indoor environment, in general we must try to replicate the conditions of outer space… bearing in mind that we must also protect ourselves from adverse temperature and climatic conditions.

Taking this aspect into account, a series of objectives related to each parameter have been established. These objectives have been divided into performance objectives and prescriptive objectives.

The performance objectives are the ones we must pursue, even though their effective performance is complex. They can be considered a horizon towards which to tend.
They are objectives with specific values, which if achieved are considered to be in a healthy environment. The general requirement is higher than that required by the current regulations.

The prescriptive objectives are developed as the actions that should be implemented to move towards the achievement of the performance objectives. The documents are divided into mandatory and optional.

For the selection of the objectives, it has been prioritized that they were economically and technically feasible to apply while at the same time allowing the achievement of minimum levels of well-being, comfort and health that were considered non-negotiable.

For each habitability parameter, general strategies have been established to achieve the levels of well-being, comfort and health that are considered minimum:

Indoor air quality
• Avoid the entry into the home of materials that emit harmful substances into the environment.
• Avoid the entry into the home of particles and fibers that travel with the users
• CO2, HR and VOC monitoring
• Control the generation of particles and fibers during the construction phase

Thermal conditions
• Prioritize that the surface temperature of the surfaces is optimal compared to the air temperature
• Stable interior environment
• Radiant air conditioning systems

Lighting conditions
• Prioritize natural lighting
• Biocompatible artificial lighting
• Artificial lighting looking for the characteristics of natural lighting
• Harmonize lighting with activity

Acoustic and sound conditions (and vibrations)
• Detect potential sources of external and internal noise
• Act on sources

Electroclimate conditions
• Concentrate on getting bedrooms and work areas with optimal conditions
• Efficient grounding
• Locate potential sources away from rest and/or long stay areas

Materials
• Avoid the entry into the home of materials that emit harmful substances into the environment
• Prioritize the presence of natural materials (safety and biophilia) over synthetic materials

Environment (pollution and contact with nature and outdoor spaces)
• Detect the degree of pollution in the environment
• Facilitate contact with nature
• Facilitate the presence of nature

Promotion of mobility
• Avoid physical inactivity and sedentary attitudes
• Encourage non-motorized mobility