Between 21st and 25th March 2022, the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech organised the C5 – Short-term joint staff training in Technological innovations in rehabilitation for adaptation to habitability and use in Barcelona as part of the Smart Rehabilitation 3.0 project. In order to define the topics to be considered for future “Building Rehabilitation Experts” (BRE), the partners had been the possibility to exchange knowledge and experiences, and debate about how to develop training methodologies and tools on specific topics concerning the technological innovation in rehabilitation for adaptation to habitability and use, in the different European countries.
With the participation of twenty Spanish, Italian, Lithuanian and Cypriot experts and professionals, representing the different partners of the Project, the training activity focused on a practical vision, supported by technical visits of successful experiences of housing rehabilitation, complemented by the necessary theoretical reflections and debates between participants. A wide variety of rehabilitation interventions were analyzed, from the restoration of a Gaudí building (Casa Batlló) to the rehabilitation of social housing in the Raval district (OASIURBÀ and Carrer Robador). The architectural typologies were also diverse, with the study of the reconversion of a building of the Fabra & Coats factory into 46 social housing, of an old textile factory of the historic city in high standing housing (Ecoliving 1802) or in the rehabilitation of a private home within the Passivhaus standards, among many others. Special attention was paid to the interventions in social housing blocks in districts around Barcelona and to the remodeling of some markets in the city to restore its social activity with all the health guarantees, or as a Cultural Center. There were also presentations of the policies for the promotion of housing rehabilitation by the Catalan Government and Barcelona City Council.
The course closed with an interesting debate to determine the main knowledge and skills that these experts must have, in aspects related to the rehabilitation of housing, in order to improve their habitability and use, from a broad perspective for the different European countries.
Author: Xavier Casanovas (RehabiMed)