Metrovacesa collaborates in the ARV project to create climate-circular communities

• The EU-funded initiative, coordinated by the Norwegian University of Technology, aims to create climate-positive circular communities in Europe and increase the rate of building renovation on the continent.

• The advances in environmental, social and economic sustainability developed by ARV are demonstrated in six European cities, including Palma de Mallorca.

• Metrovacesa contributes its experience in the residential complex “Jardins de Llevant”, which has the highest standards of sustainability and efficiency thanks, among others, to the installation of aerothermal energy for the production of DHW and the incorporation of photovoltaic panels in the common areas.

Palma de Mallorca, 21 December 2023. Metrovacesa, Spain’s leading real estate developer with more than 100 years of history and more than 150 projects under development nationwide, is collaborating in the ARV project, coordinated by the Norwegian University of Technology and involving 37 other participants. The aim of the initiative, financed by European funds, is to create climate-positive circular communities in Europe and increase the rate of building renovation on the continent.

To this end, ARV validates resilient and affordable solutions that accelerate energy renovations in four different climate zones in Europe, as well as the deployment of climate measures in the building and energy industries. It also provides guidelines and a policy framework for future energy, circular and digital solutions in the real estate sector. In order to demonstrate the innovations developed by ARV in environmental, social and economic sustainability, the project has selected six European cities located in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain, representative of the different climates of the continent.

In Spain, the Llevant Innovation District in Palma de Mallorca has been selected, a mixed-use neighbourhood that includes residential, tertiary and educational buildings, with the collaboration of Palma City Council, Metrovacesa, IBAVI, IREC and AIGUASOL.

The key actions of the demonstration case in Nou Llevant can be summarised as: new social housing construction, the refurbishment of areas with private housing, the energy renovation of a listed heritage building, as well as the creation of a Citizen Energy Community (CEC). In addition, the project also aims to create and energise Es Laboratori, an initiative to achieve energy transition targets, and is involved in new high-efficiency multi-family residential buildings.

The latter refer to “Jardins de Llevant”, Metrovacesa’s residential complex located in Nou Llevant de Palma. The urban development consists of 114 flats distributed in one- to four-bedroom homes, designed with the highest standards of sustainability and efficiency and with A energy certification. In addition, the development includes photovoltaic panels in communal areas, centralised aerothermal energy for the production of domestic hot water and a double-flow mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery.

David Sierra, director of projects and sustainability at Metrovacesa: “At Metrovacesa we are aware of the role we play as a key player in the real estate sector. That is why we collaborate in projects such as ARV, which represent a major advance in sustainability for the construction industry and respond to the current needs of the real estate market”.

For his part, the development manager, Óscar Negre, points out that “this ARV project gives us the opportunity to demonstrate empirically, together with specialists from the Catalonia Energy Research Institute (IREC), the good results of the installations and systems implemented in relation to thermal comfort and environmental quality inside the homes in our developments. It also allows us to share the experience with the users themselves and the other European partners in the interests of continuous improvement in terms of sustainability and environmental commitment”.