Urban regeneration through renovation

How a largescale renovation programme in Pamplona, Spain, is revitalising existing communities.

In several areas around Pamplona, Spain, a largescale renovation programme is slashing the energy costs and emissions of hundreds of existing buildings and breathing new life into old neighbourhoods.

The challenge

70 percent of the buildings in the Txantrea neighbourhood in Pamplona, Spain, were built during the 1980s, making age-related energy loss a common issue in many homes. The problem was brought to the attention of the government of Navarre, resulting in the creation of the Efidistrict project. With an aim of improving energy efficiency by renovating the ageing buildings, the project also served to promote similar transformations in other municipalities of Navarre.

The solution

The impact of this large-scale renovation effort in Pamplona is unmistakable. Once rundown, the 23 public housing buildings – all of them between 40 and 70 years old – glisten like new. But for the residents of almost 600 homes, the improvements run far deeper than the attractive new façade. A new thermal envelope that includes 10 cm of ROCKWOOL external façade insulation has significantly lowered energy consumption and costs, and improved acoustic comfort inside.

In addition to taking steps to dramatically reduce energy consumption, the use of fossil fuels have been replaced with renewable energy sources such as biomass.

Pamplona, Spain

Project location

Pamplona
Spain

Living more energy-consciously

Improving the thermal insulation in the façade and roofs is just one aspect of the project. Another important task has been helping residents to understand how insulation works and to encourage energy efficient behaviour at home.

In fact, involving the residents throughout the project has been a vital to its success. Over 800 meetings were held within the community, resolving more than 1,900 questions from concerned or curious locals. This level of interaction with those directly impacted by the changes resulted in high levels of acceptance and enthusiasm for the project.

Some of Spain's best performers

The project has turned these buildings – once some of Spain’s least energy efficient – into some of Spain’s best energy performers. Started in 2015, the Efidistrict project is now in its third phase with renovation planned or underway on more than 1,000 additional homes in social housing buildings in other neighbourhoods around Pamplona-Iruna.

The success of Efidistrict has been recognised inside and outside of Spain as a reference case for other municipalities seeking to combine large scale renovation with urban regeneration. The results are tangible, and the approach – including close cooperation with the community to ensure open communication during the renovation – has led to minimal disruption to the lives of residents.

Understanding the Efidistrict Fwd project

The purpose of the Efidistrict Fwd project is to carry out deep energy retrofits throughout the Txantrea district of Pamplona. This is to be achieved by developing and implementing energy saving measures for buildings and through powering the district heating systems using renewable energy sources.

The overall project aim is to improve the quality of life of those living in the district by;

Reducing energy costs, in particular those associated with heating and warming water
Using clean energy
Deep energy retrofit of buildings, resulting in better indoor environments
Improving the existing district heating systems
Renewing the urban environments

Since the beginning of the project, the Government of Navarra has invested EUR 44 million in the renovation and regeneration of residential buildings in the Txantrea neighbourhood with impressive results so far.

Learn more about the Efidistrict project.

Project Data

Year	2014-2020
Building Type	Comprehensive energy rehabilitation of the entire Txantrea neighborhood, located in Pamplona
Application	Ventilated façade
Product type	Ventirock Duo, Rocksate Duo Plus, REDArt System