Infinito Delicias is a strategic project led by Husos, Elii, Ultrazul, and supported by the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation. It exemplifies the comprehensive rehabilitation of an industrial building into a cultural center. Located in Madrid, with a total floor area of 2,780 m², the complex consists of two main volumes: a five-story office tower fronting Juana Doña Street, serving as the Foundation’s headquarters, and a former two-story industrial warehouse in the inner courtyard, repurposed for flexible workshop and auditorium spaces.

Aiguasol, in collaboration with SOCOTEC Spain, conducted a bioclimatic assessment of the building. The study addressed thermal demand reduction, minimized the operational energy’s environmental impact, improved thermal comfort, and reduced embodied carbon through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

Bioclimatic study

The bioclimatic consultancy process spanned the different phases of the project, starting at the preliminary design stage. The study had four main objectives:

• Minimize the building’s energy demand while meeting functional requirements.
• Maximize bioclimatic potential through strategies applied to the envelope and interior configuration.
• Significantly exceed the Nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) standard and its regulatory interpretation in the Spanish Building Code, by combining bioclimatic architecture, high-efficiency active systems, and on-site renewable electricity generation.
• Ensure thermal comfort in the inner courtyard through passive strategies and vegetation that increase humidity, particularly relevant in Madrid’s dry climate.

The analysis was performed using an energy model in DesignBuilder, enabling assessment of passive performance through thermal demand and indoor temperature simulations. Since the tower and the warehouse differ in use, operation, and envelope characteristics, optimization was first carried out separately for each volume.

Key variables tested to identify the optimal scenario included:

• Glazing with different solar heat gain coefficients depending on orientation and floor level.
• Thermal transmittance of envelope components with varying insulation thicknesses and window types.
• Ratios of transparent to opaque façade surfaces.
• Office typologies to enhance natural cross-ventilation.
• Solar shading strategies.
• Daylight performance, evaluated using Spatial Daylight Autonomy (sDA) and Annual Sunlight Exposure (ASE) metrics.

Energy performance results:

• Cooling demand: 24.46 kWh/m²·yr (Tower), 37.40 kWh/m²·yr (Warehouse).
• Heating demand: 21.98 kWh/m²·yr (Tower), 38.30 kWh/m²·yr (Warehouse).
  – In heating, nearly 50% of demand corresponds to latent heat due to Madrid’s climate.

Systems proposal: A hybrid geothermal–aerothermal system, supplemented by a 25.6 kWp photovoltaic array, achieves significantly lower consumption than comparable buildings. The project earned an Energy Performance Certificate rating of A, with:

• Non-renewable primary energy use: 64.50 kWh/m²·yr (24% below the Spanish Building Code threshold).
• Emissions: 11.88 kgCO₂eq/m²·yr.

Outdoor thermal comfort

High urban density and asphalt–soil imbalance create challenges such as the urban heat island effect. Infinito Delicias incorporates a semi-outdoor courtyard beneath the warehouse roof designed to provide year-round comfort through nature-based solutions:

• Increase localized relative humidity in Madrid’s dry continental climate.
• Reduce solar radiation absorption, lowering radiant temperature and preventing overheating.
• Lower perceived air temperature, enhancing outdoor comfort.
• Provide deciduous shading to reduce thermal demand and improve user comfort.

This space adapts seasonally through operable windows and skylights:

• Summer: openings allow natural ventilation and heat dissipation, while solar protections block direct radiation.
• Winter: openings remain closed, turning the space into a greenhouse effect zone that improves indoor conditions.

Comfort studies:

1. Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) analysis for summer using EnviMet compared the designed courtyard against a traditional paved, unshaded courtyard. During activity hours (07:00–24:00), hours under “Strong Heat Stress” (35–41 °C PET) were reduced from 43% to 22%.
2. Air temperature comparison between courtyard and street using DesignBuilder for winter. During occupancy hours, exterior comfort was achieved 21% of the time, while the courtyard reached 43%.

Circularity

Using One Click LCA, an embodied carbon life cycle assessment compared Infinito Delicias with a conventional building designed with standard materials. Early design phases included comparative studies of carpentry, structural systems, and insulation types to select optimal low-carbon alternatives.

Key material strategies included:

• Maximizing use of locally sourced pine wood.
• Using biodegradable cork insulation.
• Reusing up to 95% of the existing structure, minimizing demand for new materials.
• Incorporating recycled materials.

The architectural team quantified the impact of traditional design (545 kgCO₂eq/m²) versus the rehabilitation approach (240 kgCO₂eq/m²). The latter achieved a 50% reduction in embodied carbon by reusing the structure and selecting regenerative materials. Reports highlighted the role of biogenic materials in reducing carbon, water, and ozone impacts.

An award-winning rehabilitation project

In 2023, Infinito Delicias received the Holcim Gold Europe Award for its extensive structural reuse and regenerative material selection. The jury praised the project’s “thoroughness and clarity” in communicating sustainable features, metrics, and results, which demonstrated “a solid understanding of the project’s impact.”