An Inflatable Building in Barcelona Provides A New Kind of Insulation

<p /> The Poblenou district <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/11/06/2009-world-architecture-festival-winners-announced/">in Barcelona</a> was once <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/03/04/brooklyns-gowanus-canal-gets-superfund-status/">buzzing with industry</a> until an industrial decline in the 20th century <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/10/22/water-pumping-plant-renovated-into-gorgeous-living-space/">left old warehouses</a> still standing in the neighborhood without much activity. The city is now trying to <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/02/22/seoul-recovers-a-lost-stream-transforms-it-into-an-urban-park/">revitalize the district</a> and has started a test area called 22@Barcelona. One of the new projects in the area is the <a href="http://www.ruiz-geli.com/">Media-TIC building</a>. Designed by Cloud9 architects led by Enric Ruiz Geli, it blends <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/09/29/shipping-containers-turn-warehouse-into-office-space/">old structures with new information</a> utilizing an inflatable smart facade that regulates sunlight and temperature for the structure.

Ruiz-Geli wants the new district to be <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/zero-energy/">"energy autonomous."</a> The new factories and offices there will make energy as they use them. The Media-TIC building utilizes an inflatable Ethylene Tetra Fluoro Ethylene (ETFE) skin that is regulated by a <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/solar-power/">solar-powered</a> automatic digital light sensor as the sun changes throughout the day.

The "skin" is made up of different ETFE air chambers that are expanded or contracted as the light changes.

In the city where Gaudi's architecture still reigns, the Media-TIC building's inflatable "skin" was designed to fit in with his famous fluid designs. <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/interiors/">The interior</a> is a place for people to think, meet, and create. The main floor is an <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/interiors/">open public space</a>.

This was made possible by a new steel structure design that allows weight to be transferred to the outer beams in the building leaving the inner structure almost completely free of structural elements.

The ETFE skin allows light to filter through but shades the persons inside from direct sunlight reducing the UV rays by 85%.

The skin is also "anti-adherent" which means little need for cleaning the exterior. As one of the first steps for Barcelona in bringing new technology to the old Poblenou district, the Media-TIC building seems to be the perfect start.