The business park of Palmas Altas lies to the south of Seville in a new urban development area. The project, a joint initiative between the City Council and sustainable technology company Abengoa, is the largest commercial technological development in southern Spain.
Once completed, two-thirds of the 100,000m² complex will become Abengoa’s new headquarters. The company, which has offices around Seville, will bring its commercial activities under one roof. Abengoa hopes to encourage collaboration by letting the remainder of the development to companies and institutions with similar interests.
Palmas Altas was designed in close collaboration with architects Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners and Vidal y Asociados Arquitectos.
Developed to embrace Abengoa’s core values of energy efficiency and sustainability while being economically competitive, the design will prove itself to be a fully integrated architectural and engineering triumph.
Sustainability features
Concept design studies indicating carbon footprint reduction and economic payback have been carried out for all the proposed passive and active sustainability solutions. Passive low energy consumption solutions include orientation, compactness, green roofs, and facades.
Active solutions to optimise energy efficiency include:
- Trigeneration, which creates electricity, heating and cooling from a single energy source.
- The installation of photovoltaic panels on the roofs.
- Lighting dimming systems sensitive to levels of daylight.
Active solutions to reduce water consumption include:
- Absorption chillers on the roofs which will provide cold water.
- Dry toilets.
- Storage facilities for rainwater so that it can be recycled and used for irrigation.
The result is expected to bring exceptional green credentials to Palmas Altas. On completion, the carbon footprint of the development will be about 30% lower than typical Spanish offices.
The development is also expected to receive platinum accreditation from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building rating system, which is the highest accreditation available.
The development promises to be economically viable as well as sustainable – it is expected to keep to a tight budget of €850 per m².