Children’s Residence in Vilafranca

Restricted competition called by GISA for the execution of the executive project and construction management. First prize.

The CRAE Children’s Center is a facility in Vilafranca, Alt Penedès county, to accommodate up to twenty children who temporarily have to be away from their families. The program is focused on getting more “a big house” than to solve a conventional residence typology.

The site is qualified by a public square that marks the change of density, between a multi-family housing area and another more peri-urban isolated houses.

The building is articulated by two volumes with landscape proportion, each one close to the size of any of the single-family houses that complete the block. The articulation between the two volumes marks the north side of the public access in the center. This north façade is the one facing the square, it is more forceful, private and discreet. While the south is more open and a small garden allows a playground. Special attention has been paid to solar protection, integrating adjustable slat blinds in the openings, which can be controlled centrally to optimize solar gain in winter and avoid overheating in summer. The north and south envelope is of the ventilated facade type with terracotta tiles. The artificial thermal conditioning is a combination of underfloor heating and fan coils, providing heating and cooling.