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Spirala Community Home
Project type: Competition
Award: Shortlisted Location: Beira Baixa, Portugal Project Value: N/A Size: 535 m2 Year: 2021 Collaborators: Daniel Burston, Toby Oxborrow, Emily Young Vertical Divider
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A whole systems approach has been taken in order to investigate and understand how the Spirala Community Home can better integrate with nature. Naturally sourced materials that require minimal processing have been used wherever possible, while other materials have been selected based on their capacity to be reused or recycled, in order to reduce the overall embodied carbon of the building's key components,
The project adopts Passive House standard design criteria to reduce energy demands and increase comfort. Passive cooling strategies, such as stack ventilation, have been incorporated and all internal spaces have been fitted with mechanical ventilation with heat recovery.
The spiral shaped wall acts as the spine to the whole building. The spine informs the plan but is counterbalanced by circles so that there is a ‘dance’ between an ever decreasing/ increasing curve and a constant one. This gives rise to a space between, a third element, that opens up and closes down to give a variety of spaces suitable for different functions.
The project adopts Passive House standard design criteria to reduce energy demands and increase comfort. Passive cooling strategies, such as stack ventilation, have been incorporated and all internal spaces have been fitted with mechanical ventilation with heat recovery.
The spiral shaped wall acts as the spine to the whole building. The spine informs the plan but is counterbalanced by circles so that there is a ‘dance’ between an ever decreasing/ increasing curve and a constant one. This gives rise to a space between, a third element, that opens up and closes down to give a variety of spaces suitable for different functions.