Through its company Constraula, in January this year, the Sorigué group has started the industrialised construction of the building containing 42 homes made from cross-laminated timber (CLT) on Carrer de Pallars, in the district of Sant Martí, for Barcelona City Council.  
 
This development, carried out in conjunction with the architecture teams of Oikosvia Architecture andFabregat & Fabregat will be made up of 1,103 pieces of wood previously made in the factory, with material from sustainable forestry 
 
The project is one of the two developments that the Municipal Institute for Housing and Refurbishment (IMHAB) awarded to Sorigué companies in August 2021, with the aim of expanding the city’s stock of social and affordable public rental housing. 
 
Institutional visit to the works 
 
On Thursday 9 February, the Barcelona City Council’s Councillor for Housing and Refurbishment, Lucia Martín, visited the building site to explain the advantages of this construction system and the city council’s commitment to innovative and sustainable construction methods. 
 
Representatives of the Sorigué group were also present, including Francisco Ullod, general manager of Ciudad and Lena Riubrugent Espígol, head of construction at Constraula, as well as the architects of the development. 
 
Advantages of industrialised construction   
 
Thanks to the industrialised construction system, the company group reduces the environmental impact in the execution of this project. In this respect, the use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) from sustainable forestry contributes to an almost complete reduction in water consumption and waste generation. 
 
In addition, the factory pre-preparation of the construction elements makes it possible to speed up deadlines and cut the execution time by half.

Also noteworthy is that the tender includes the drafting of the technical project and the construction of the developments. As a result, continuous and collaborative work between the architectural studios and the construction company has been encouraged from the outset.  
 
Characteristics of the building 
 
The eight-storey building will be located on a 706 m² plot and will have a total built area of 3,432 m². It will have two-bedroom units and a percentage of the units will be allocated to people with reduced mobility. 
 
The project envisages an almost square building, with a space in the centre helping to improve its energy efficiency by adding more light to the units not facing the street and encouraging cross-ventilation through the entire building.  
 
Units will have open balconies with sun shading for the summer, and enclosed balconies for the winter to provide a thermal buffer. The building will be A-level energy certified and incorporate an active renewable energy system using solar panels.The ground floor will be an open area is given over to public space and offering direct access to the interior of the block. 
  
In terms of its structure, the building’s horizontal and vertical components will be constructed using CLT: load-bearing walls and columns, among other elements. On the ground floor, concrete frames and pillars will be used to support the timber. 
 
To erect the building, a total of 1,103 parts will be used, including slabs, walls, dentils, beams and steps, made from spruce wood from sustainably managed forests, with PEFC certification, the world’s most well-established forestry certification system.