Vila-seca sport hall: Thermodynamic simulation

ideadmin on 17 July 2025

Praxis Resilient Buildings conducted a detailed thermodynamic simulation study to assess and optimise the thermal behaviour of a new sports hall in Vila-seca, Tarragona. Designed by architect Pere Buil of Vora Arquitectes, the building follows a mixed-mode, non-conditioned design approach relying on passive strategies for year-round comfort. Using the IWEC II climate file for nearby …

Vila-seca sports hall: Thermodynamic simulation

Praxis Resilient Buildings conducted a detailed thermodynamic simulation study to assess and optimise the thermal behaviour of a new sports hall in Vila-seca, Tarragona. Designed by architect Pere Buil of Vora Arquitectes, the building follows a mixed-mode, non-conditioned design approach relying on passive strategies for year-round comfort.

Using the IWEC II climate file for nearby Reus Airport and the EnergyPlus simulation engine, we analysed key envelope components and operational strategies. Natural ventilation, solar control glazing, roof surface properties, daylighting control, and slab insulation were all assessed under typical winter and summer conditions.

Key outcomes included:

Cross-ventilation and stack effect strategies delivering >20,000 m³/h airflow without mechanical assistance.
Passive cooling success: Indoor temperatures remained below outdoor peaks in summer.
Unexpected impact of slab insulation: Reduced beneficial subsoil heat transfer in winter.
Daylight-responsive lighting control reduced electricity demand by up to 90%.

Recommendations included skipping under-slab insulation, optimising solar protection with external shading (especially on northwest façades), maintaining 30 cm of roof insulation, and implementing a sensor-based Building Management System (BMS) for smart window operation.

The result is a set of passive design strategies that allow the Vilaseca sports hall to perform comfortably and efficiently without active cooling or heating — a reference model for resilient educational sports infrastructure in Catalonia.

Year: 2025
Location: Vila-seca, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain
Client: Vora Arquitectes
Services Praxis: Thermodynamic simulation

Borda Nova, Andorra: Multifamily Passivhaus

ideadmin on 22 November 2024

La Borda Nova, Andorra: Multiresidential Passivhaus

Description Public development with 44 social housing units, designed by architects Pau Iglesias Rodríguez and Jacint Gil Rodríguez, with Oliver Style of Praxis Resilient Buildings as Passivhaus certifier. The building is located in the city of Andorra La Vella, the capital city of Andorra. The project has a treated floor area of 3350 m2 and …

La Borda Nova, Andorra: Multifamily Passivhaus

Passivhaus Certification, thermal bridge calculations

Description

Public development with 44 social housing units, designed by architects Pau Iglesias Rodríguez and Jacint Gil Rodríguez, with Oliver Style of Praxis Resilient Buildings as Passivhaus certifier. The building is located in the city of Andorra La Vella, the capital city of Andorra.

The project has a treated floor area of 3350 m2 and includes 228 parking places, ground floor commercial premises and a roof garden.

Alongside the certification of the building, Praxis is carrying out Passivhaus component certification of the Butech (Porcelanosa) prefabricated construction system which is being installed on the façade of the building.

Links:

PEP (Plataforma Edificación Passivhaus)

iPHa (Base de datos internacional de proyectos Passivhaus)

Fotos & renders: Locubsa; Pau Iglesias y Jacint Gil

Year: 2024

Location: Andorra La Vella, Andorra

Architecture: Pau Iglesias Rodríguez – Jacint Gil Rodríguez

Services provided by Praxis: Passivhaus Certification, thermal bridge calculations

Passivhaus Certification Class: Passivhaus Classic

Climate zone: Warm Temperate

Floor area: 3350 m2

Thermal envelope area: 4796 m2

Blower Door Result: 0,6 n50

Heating Demand: 17 kWh/m2·a

Cooling Demand: – kWh/m2·a

Primary Energy Renewable consumption (EPR): 70 kWh/m2·a

Final Energy consumption: 78 kWh/m2·a

Renewable energy generation: 0 kWh/m2·a

CO2eq emissions: 17 kg/m2·a

ICONIC: High performance sports centre, Andorra

praxisadmin on 10 January 2023

Cramea: centro deportivo de alto rendimiento

Description Passivhaus design and consultancy for a high-performance sports centre located at 2600 metres above sea level in El Pas de la Casa, Andorra. This 9000 m2 building, designed by Engitec, is in the process of Passivhaus Classic certification. Praxis has done the PHPP energy modelling, design of the thermal envelope and airtight layer, advice …

Cramea, High performance sports centre

Passivhaus

Description

Passivhaus design and consultancy for a high-performance sports centre located at 2600 metres above sea level in El Pas de la Casa, Andorra. This 9000 m2 building, designed by Engitec, is in the process of Passivhaus Classic certification.

Praxis has done the PHPP energy modelling, design of the thermal envelope and airtight layer, advice on low-impact materials, and analysis and optimisation of thermal bridges and construction details.

We’ve undertaken thermodynamic analysis of the building, using Design Builder (EnergyPlus), to assess thermal comfort and analyse the risk of summer overheating in critical zones in the building.

We have also consulted on mechanical and electrical system design, with proposals for improvements and compliance with the Passivhaus standard, to ensure efficient operation and low maintenance costs. Finally, we have provided with on-site Passivhaus supervision and quality control.

Year: 2022

Location: El Pas de la Casa, Andorra

Services Passivhaus design & consultancy, thermodynamic simulation, M & E consultancy, and site supervision

Lekunberri: Passivhaus Classic home

ideadmin on 29 August 2023

Vivienda passivhaus en Lekunberri exterior

Praxis has carried out the Passivhaus Classic certification of this single-family home in Lekunberri, Navarra, designed by the architect and Passivhaus Designer Pedro Mariñelarena Albéniz, together with Itziar Iriarte Zubiría.

Passivhaus home in Lekunberri

Passivhaus

Description

Praxis has carried out the Passivhaus Classic certification of this single-family home in Lekunberri, Navarra, designed by the architect and Passivhaus Designer Pedro Mariñelarena Albéniz, together with Itziar Iriarte Zubiría.

This single-family home was designed and built using bio-construction criteria. Outer walls are made of exposed CLT panels, insulated externally with 240mm of wood fibre insulation and natural lime render. A Zehnder Q350 HRV unit provides mechanical ventilation with heat recovery. The timber window frames were supplied by Iribarren, a local manufacturer located in the Navarra region. The house achieved an impressive blower door test of n50 = 0.27 ach. A De Dietrich ALEZIO S 6 MR air-to-water heat pump delivers space heating with underfloor heating, as well as producing domestic hot water.

Links:

International Passivhaus Projects database

Spanish Passivhaus Platform (PEP) project database

Year: 2023

Location: Lekunberri, Navarra

Services:
Passivhaus certification

Casa Este, Rupia: Low energy home

ideadmin on 27 March 2024

Single family home in Rupia, Girona, Catalonia, designed by the Nordest Arquitectura and built by Evowall. The building was designed to meet PHI Low Energy Building standard, with Oliver Style and Bega Clavero of Praxis Resilient Buildings as Passivhaus consultants.

Casa Este, Rupia: Low energy home

Passivhaus Consultancy

Description

The home is built with the Evowall steel-frame prefabricated construction system, consisting of a proprietary low-conductivity mortar, EPS and PIR insulation, with the outer walls rendered or finished with rammed earth blocks.

Timber window frames and low-e argon filled solar control glazing make up the openings.

Ventilation is with a Zehnder balanced mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery.

Heating and cooling are with an air-to-air mini VRF Panasonic heat pump with five ducted indoor split units. Domestic Hot Water is supplied by a Panasonic air-to-water heat pump.

A roof-mounted 8,1 kWp solar PV generator generates a projected 92% of the home’s total energy consumption.

Links:

Pep – iPHA

Photos: Evowall

Year: 2023

Location: Rupia, Girona, España

Architecture: Nordest Arquitectura SLP

Services provided by Praxis: Passivhaus Consultancy, thermal bridge calculations, building physics, heating-cooling-DHW-ventilation system design, Blower Door airtightness tests

Passivhaus Certification Class

Floor area: 179 m2

Thermal envelope area: 769 m2

Blower Door result: 2,4 n50

Heating Demand: 30 kWh/m2·a

Cooling Demand: 8 kWh/m2·a

Primary Energy Renewable consumption (EPR): 46 kWh/m2·a

Final Energy consumption: 59 kWh/m2·a

Renewable energy generation: 49 kWh/m2·a

CO2eq emissions: 18 kg/m2·a

Ca Na Lola: Passivhaus Plus home, Mallorca

ideadmin on 20 July 2023

Ca Na Lola: Mediterranean Passive House

Passivhaus

Description

Ca Na Lola is a single-family home located in Campos, Mallorca, which has achieved Passivhaus Plus certification. The home has a very low level of air infiltration, with a Blower Door test result of 0.38 ach at 50 Pa. A solar photovoltaic generator installed in the garden generates approximately twice as much energy as the house consumes in an average year.

Ca Na Lola has a timber structure with wood fibre insulation and a mineral mortar render as an exterior finish. The windows are shaded with external blinds and a pergola adds further shading on the south façade.

Mechanical ventilation with heat and moisture recovery is taken care of by a Zehnder Comfoair Q350 ERV unit with Passivhaus component certification for hot climates, recovering both heat and moisture.

A Mitsubishi air-to-water heat pump produces domestic hot water. A second Mitsubishi VRV heat pump delivers underfloor heating and cooling through ducted split units.

Links:

Spanish Passivhaus Platform (PEP) project database

International Passivhaus Projects database

Year: 2022

Location: Campos, Palma de Mallorca, Islas Baleares

Services:
Passivhaus Consultancy

Casa Oeste, Rupia: Low energy home

ideadmin on 27 March 2024

Single family home in Rupia, Girona, Catalonia, designed by the Nordest Arquitectura and built by Evowall. Oliver Style and Bega Clavero of Praxis Resilient Buildings were Passivhaus consultants for the project. The building has been certified as a PHI Low Energy Building.

Casa Oeste, Rupia

Passivhaus Consultancy

Description

Timber window frames and low-e argon filled solar control glazing make up the openings.

Ventilation is provided with a Zehnder balanced mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery.

Heating and cooling are with an air-to-air mini VRF Panasonic heat pump with five ducted indoor split units. Domestic Hot Water is supplied by a Panasonic air-to-water heat pump. A roof-mounted 8,1 kWp solar PV generator generates a projected 124% of the home’s total energy consumption.

Links:

Pep – iPHA

Photos: Evowall

Year: 2023

Location: Rupia, Girona, España

Architecture: Nordest Arquitectura SLP

Services provided by Praxis: Passivhaus Consultancy, thermal bridge calculations, building physics, heating-cooling-DHW-ventilation system design, Blower Door airtightness tests

Passivhaus Certification Class: PHI Low Energy Building

Floor area: 173 m2

Thermal envelope area: 778 m2

Blower Door result: 1 n50

Heating Demand: 30 kWh/m2·a

Cooling Demand: 10 kWh/m2·a

Primary Energy Renewable consumption (EPR): 41 kWh/m2·a

Final Energy consumption: 45 kWh/m2·a

Renewable energy generation: 48 kWh/m2·a

CO2eq emissions: 18 kg/m2·a

Mirador de Gràcia: Passivhaus Nursing home

ideadmin on 5 February 2021

Consultoría Passivhaus para una residencia geriátrica asistida ubicada en Barcelona capital, diseñada por el despacho de arquitectura Genars y promovido por FIATC Seguros a través de FIATC Residencias (Inverfiatc).

Mirador de Gràcia: Passivhaus Care home

Passivhaus

Description

Passivhaus consultancy for an elderly people residence located in Barcelona capital, designed by Genars architecture studio and developed by FIATC Seguros through FIATC Residencias (Inverfiatc). This 6575 m2 building is in the process of Passivhaus Classic certification.

Praxis has delivered the PHPP modelling, design of the thermal envelope and airtight layer, advice on low-impact materials, and analysis and optimisation of thermal bridges and construction details.

We’ve also undertaken a thermodynamic and daylighting study of the building, using DesignBuilder (EnergyPlus & Radiance), to assess natural light levels and analyse the risk of summer overheating.

Our work has also included an audit of the mechanical and electrical systems, with proposals for improvements and compliance with the Passivhaus standard, to ensure efficient operation and low maintenance costs. Praxis has also undertaken the Blower Door testing and on-site Passivhaus supervision and quality control.

Photos: Salva Lopez y Miriam Castells

Links:

Passive House Database iPHa

Base de datos de proyectos Passivhaus PEP

Year: 2024

Location: Barcelona, España

Architecture: Joaquim Rigau – Genars

Services provided by Praxis: Passivhaus design & consultancy, thermodynamic simulation, daylighting analysis, HVAC consultancy, Blower Door testing, site supervision

Passivhaus Certification Class: Passivhaus Classic

Climate zone: Warm

Floor area: 4595 m2

Thermal envelope area: 6880 m2

Blower Door Result: 0,64 n50

Heating Demand: 11 kWh/m2·a

Cooling Demand: 10 kWh/m2·a

Primary Energy Renewable consumption (EPR): 53 kWh/m2·a

Final Energy consumption: 60 kWh/m2·a

Renewable energy generation: 61 kWh/m2·a

CO2eq emissions: 32 kg/m2·a

Cabrera de Mar: Passivhaus Plus home

ideadmin on 27 March 2024

Single-family home in Cabrera de Mar, Barcelona, certified Passivhaus Plus by Oliver Style of Praxis Resilient Buildings and designed by the architect Víctor Blanco of the VBTArquitecte office, with Alfred Núñez Aparicio as Passivhaus Designer.

Passivhaus Plus home in Cabrera de Mar

Passivhaus Certification

Description

The house has a ground floor, first floor and basement with a floor area of 249 m2. The Izodom construction system, with Passivhaus component certification, has 50mm BASF Neopor insulation on the inside and 150mm on the outside, which surrounds the reinforced concrete structure and eliminates thermal bridges. The roof is insulated with 160mm of XPS insulation, with 150mm on the floors. Passivhaus certified WERU Afino One PVC frames, together with low emissivity triple glazing with argon gas and external blinds, make up the high-performance windows.

The Blower Door test, carried out by Oliver Style of Praxis Resilient Buildings, gave an excellent result of n50 = 0.4 ach, even with a cooker hood extracting to outside with a Naber Thermobox non-return valve.

A Passivhaus certified Zehnder Comfoair Q450 sensible heat recovery unit takes care of the controlled mechanical ventilation.

Heating and cooling are with Daikin RXM + FDX/FBA air-to-air heat pumps and ducted indoor units.

A separate Daikin ERWQ02AV3 heat pump provides domestic hot water. A 6.8 kWp photovoltaic generator will generate approximately 131% of the home’s annual energy consumption, making it a final energy net zero energy building.

Links:

Pep – iPHA

Photos: Alfred Núñez Aparicio

Year: 2023

Location: Cabrera de Mar, Barcelona

Architecture: Olga Garcia Gomez, Alfred Núñez Aparicio

Services provided by Praxis: Passivhaus certification, thermal bridge calculations, Blower Door airtightness tests

Passivhaus Certification Class: Passivhaus Plus

Floor area: 249 m2

Thermal envelope area: 744 m2

Blower Door result: 0,4 n50

Heating Demand: 2 kWh/m2·a

Cooling Demand: 15 kWh/m2·a

Primary Energy Renewable consumption (EPR): 35 kWh/m2·a

Final Energy consumption: 26 kWh/m2·a

Renewable energy generation: 66 kWh/m2·a

CO2eq emissions: 14 kg/m2·a

Cabana GR4: Low energy home

ideadmin on 5 September 2023

PHI Low Energy Building certification for single family house with a treated floor area of 125.4 m², located in Castellcir, Barcelona.

Cabana GR4 Passivhaus

Passivhaus

Description

PHI Low Energy Building certification for single family house with a treated floor area of 125.4 m², located in Castellcir, Barcelona. Designed by Lluís Jubert of Taller d´Arquitectura, promoted by Núria Grau and Jaume Ribas and built by Albert Fargas of Farhaus.

The construction system is lightweight timber frame, using low-emission, bio-based materials with low environmental impact to reduce the building’s carbon footprint and provide a healthy indoor environment. The high level of insulation, minimised thermal bridges and triple low-e glazing with Farhaus timber frames, reduce heating energy demand in the winter. In the summer, external blinds reduce solar gains and overheating. Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery is provided by a Zehnder ComfoAir 180 HRV.

As part of the Passivhaus audit, Praxis revised the calculations and design documentation presented by the Passivhaus Consultant, which include architectural and M&E drawings and reports, the PHPP calculation, the Blower Door test report, ventilation commissioning documentation and photographs of the construction process and the completed building.

Links:

International Passivhaus Projects database

Spanish Passivhaus Platform (PEP) project database

Year: 2021

Location: Castellcir, Barcelona

Services:
Passivhaus certification