Sorigué has begun construction on this prefabricated cross-laminated timber (CLT) building located on Calle Lola Iturbe in Barcelona’s Sant Martí district, commissioned by Barcelona City Council.  

Over the next 15 months the business group will be constructing Catalonia’s tallest timber structure, a nine-story 42-unit building.  

This project is one of the two developments awarded to Sorigué in August 2021 by the Municipal Housing and Rehabilitation Institute (IMHAB), which is aimed at expanding the city’s affordable social housing stock. It is designed by Urbanitree, the architecture firm of Daniel Ibañez and Vicente Guallart.  

Laying the “First Timber”  

The ceremony to mark the start of construction took place on 20 December with the symbolic laying of the “first timber”. The Councillor of Housing and Rehabilitation, Lucia Martín, led the ceremony alongside the Director of the IMHAB, Gerard Capó, and the Minister of Urban Ecology and Housing and Councillor of the Verneda i La Pau neighbourhood, Eva Campos.  

Other attendees included Sorigué group representatives such as Marc Salvadó, Building Manager; Xavier Fincias, Group Head of Building; Domingo Bargalló, Head of Building Production; and Jorge Manuel Molina, Building Contract Manager, as well as the architects for this development: Vicente Guallart, Daniel Ibañez and Pieràngela Humet.  

Sustainable and Efficient Construction

This building will be constructed using prefabricated components, offering a lower environmental impact compared to traditional construction while helping to 

 

mitigate the impact of climate change, thanks to the efficient use of materials and the prefabrication of structural components.

In this sense, using a sustainable material such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) will help keep water use and waste to near zero.  

Another feature of this development is the fact that it was awarded under a design and construction contract. Thanks to this, Sorigué, as the construction company, and the architect team have worked together right from the beginning.  

Development Specifications  

The building will be located on a 423 m² plot, with a gross floor area of 3,377 m². The plans include five, two-bedroom units per floor. Three units will be for people with reduced mobility.  

The building will be organised around a single courtyard for thermal comfort, ventilation and lighting, and features spacious balconies for all units on three of the four sides of the structure. The project includes pergolas, a communal garden and solar panels on the rooftop.  

The ground floor is to incorporate concrete columns to facilitate its use as public space and integration into the neighbourhood. CLT will be used for construction from the first floor up.