Sorigué designs one of Barcelona’s new paving stones
Sorigué demonstrates the efficiency of water treatment...
Sorigué starts a pilot test with electric machinery in...
July 7, 2022
PANOT+, a product of the collaboration between Constraula and other companies and departments in the Group, offers minimal carbon emissions.
Barcelona’s signature panot (paving stone) will tackle 21st-century challenges, using significantly more sustainable materials which require less maintenance and help to reduce ground temperature. The iconic four-petal flower will keep its look, but will be manufactured following new environmental standards, without compromising the performance required by constant pedestrian use.
After being put out to tender in April 2022, Barcelona City Council has decided to grant a total of 240,000 euros to three proposals meeting its technical requirements: Panot del s. XXI, PANOT+ and R3PANOT.
Sorigué’s PANOT+
Under the name PANOT+, Sorigué offers an aggregate-modified cement mix, with 25% of aggregates recycled from demolitions in Barcelona province. The upper layer also includes titanium dioxide to maximise its non-stick, self-cleaning and air-purifying properties.
This paving stone is less bulky, dropping from 4 to 3 cm tall for pavements and from 8 to 6 cm tall for roads, without any reduction in its strength or load-bearing capacity. By using clean energy, recycled materials and less cement mix per square metre of pavement, PANOT+ offers a carbon footprint for public spaces which is up to 43% lower. In terms of manufacturing, it is much more sustainable, thanks to using rain water and self-generated power techniques.
This product was designed in-house and is the result of coordination between companies from the Constraula group, city utilities expert, and ICA, that specialises in pre-cast concrete. This partnership, which once again highlights the value of the company’s cross-cutting expertise, also featured the help of the Communication and Innovation departments.
Innovative Projects
Besides Sorigué, the other successful tenderers were the Panot del s. XXI and R3PANOT projects. The former, submitted by Breinco with the help of Esitec and Smart Engineering, features an innovative mortarless installation system to make joining parts easy. This means 100% of paving stones are reused, resulting in longer durability. In addition, this material provides increased water permeability.
Meanwhile, R3PANOT uses cement from iron and steel scrap to cut CO2 emissions by between 60% and 65%. This project, submitted by Escofet and supported by Promsa and Eurecat, stands out for its significantly less bulky paving stones for maximum durability and reuse.
Pilot
Each of these projects received 80,000 euros from the City Council to manufacture the necessary prototypes to repave 1,000 square meters in Eixample’s new superblock.
The three different paving stones under this tender will be laid in mid-July 2022, and after one year of the pilot, the winning design will be decided. The new panots will be slightly lighter in colour than their current counterparts, for higher solar reflectance to help lower ground temperature. As was the case when the four-petal flower design was successful in a tender in the early 20th century, the winning design this time around will become openly licensed as part of the city’s heritage.
Besides Sorigué, the other successful tenderers were the Panot del s. XXI and R3PANOT projects. The former, submitted by Breinco with the help of Esitec and Smart Engineering, features an innovative mortarless installation system to make joining parts easy. This means 100% of paving stones are reused, resulting in longer durability. In addition, this material provides increased water permeability.
Meanwhile, R3PANOT uses cement from iron and steel scrap to cut CO2 emissions by between 60% and 65%. This project, submitted by Escofet and supported by Promsa and Eurecat, stands out for its significantly less bulky paving stones for maximum durability and reuse.
Pilot
Each of these projects received 80,000 euros from the City Council to manufacture the necessary prototypes to repave 1,000 square meters in Eixample’s new superblock.
The three different paving stones under this tender will be laid in mid-July 2022, and after one year of the pilot, the winning design will be decided. The new panots will be slightly lighter in colour than their current counterparts, for higher solar reflectance to help lower ground temperature. As was the case when the four-petal flower design was successful in a tender in the early 20th century, the winning design this time around will become openly licensed as part of the city’s heritage.
