Gaes Hearing Aid Factory Protected by a Mobile Louvered Facade in Barcelona

<a href="http://www.gaes.es/" target="_blank">Gaes</a> is one of a new wave of companies that have made their home in Barcelona's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Poblenou" target="_blank">Poblenou</a> technology district - and the company's building is just as high-tech as the hearing aids they produce. Designed by <a href="http://www.mizien.com/" target="_blank">MIZIEN</a>, Gaes' building provides space for both administration and production facilities. Encased in a mobile sunscreen louvered facade, the building provides great daylighting without much solar heat gain. This dynamic building is a model for the new business district and an example of the company's capabilities.

Poblenou, a former industrial district of Barcelona, has transformed over the last decade into a new model of a compact city, where innovative companies co-exist with research, training and tech transfer centers.

<a href="http://www.gaes.es/" target="_blank">Gaes</a> is one of those companies who has made its home here and has a brand new, high-tech building.

The hearing aid manufacturer has a sophisticated process that produces zero waste in a laboratory like setting - an industry perfectly suited for a dense urban environment.

Wanting to match their new home with their product, Gaes requested an energy efficient building.

<a href="http://www.mizien.com/" target="_blank">MIZIEN</a> responded with a design that responded to its environment, took in ample daylighting and provided a dynamic space in which to work.

The louvered facade is a living moving skin controlled by central system associated to weather to keep the interior climate controlled.

Voids in the interior lead up to skylights that pull in natural daylight through the floors down all the way to the ground floor.

The transparent building provides pleasant working conditions while maintaining energy efficiency.