We spend most of our days indoors, be they homes, offices or entertainment venues, making designing climate-balanced environments a growing priority. In this context, energy efficiency and sustainability have consolidated themselves as fundamental pillars, not only to reduce environmental impact, but also to improve people’s comfort and well-being. Technological innovation plays a key role in this process, offering creative solutions that allow us to optimize resources and create healthier and more environmentally friendly spaces. With the aim of recognizing and giving visibility to the projects driving this change, Mitsubishi Electric celebrates the 11th edition of the 3 Diamond Awards, an initiative that highlights excellence in air conditioning, energy efficiency and sustainability in the building sector.
Held at the Torre Glòries in Barcelona, the emblematic building designed by Jean Nouvel and known among other things for its natural ventilation system, the last gala of these awards took place on 7 November, now converted into a barometer on innovation in energy efficiency, and showing professionals in the sector the most advanced solutions in terms of energy efficiency, and in aspects such as architectural integration and intelligent air management. On this occasion, the main awards concerned projects as diverse as the rehabilitation of a protected 19th century building in the center of Madrid, the creation of a working environment in a contact lens factory in Getafe or a new building at the University of Buenos Aires.
Measured and respectful environment
The two main categories of the 3 Diamond Awards are divided according to the energy capacity they require. In the first, up to 200 kW, the winning project of this edition was the turning of the Mark’ennovy contact lens factory, in Getafe, Madrid. This Zetus Soluciones Energéticas plant, considered one of the most advanced in Europe in its sector, required in-depth control of temperature, humidity and air filtration conditions. To achieve this, precision IT cooling equipment, common in data centers, applied to an industrial environment was used, as well as incorporating an activated carbon filter system capable of reducing energy consumption by 74% in the summer months and 82% in winter.
For its part, in the category above 200 kW, the winning project of this 11th edition was the restoration of the office environment in Paseo de la Castellana 14, in Madrid, the work of IKDI Ingenieros Consultores. Built in the 19th century, this historic building has been transformed into a workplace, maintaining the original architectural elements and developing a new and advanced air conditioning system. Through a combination of solutions based on geothermal, aerothermal and gas, this working environment is managed through a centralized system that uses air quality sensors modulated based on space occupancy. The use of active panels has allowed air conditioning to be integrated into the structure of the building without altering it, and through a night-time cooling and energy recovery system it has obtained energy certification A, the highest existing according to current standards, and is approaching the goal of almost zero consumption.
The 3 Diamond Awards also recognized other initiatives. As gold finalists, this edition awarded a bioclimatic residential project in Chiclana de la Frontera, Cadiz, known as Pinola Housing, by Lisabesur and Mollinedo Arquitectos, as well as the Health Center in Barbastro (Huesca) by Engineering Torné. As silver finalists, the awards went to the Archaeological Museum of Banyoles (Girona), by Reda Brussosa Ingenieros, and the new headquarters of TM Offices in Torrevieja (Alicante), designed by TM Grupo Inmobiliario.
International opening
One of the novelties of this edition of the 3 Diamond Awards is the inclusion of a new category, intended to reward the most efficient project in Latin America. This new award went to the Zero+Infinite Pavilion of the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina), by Vignaroli, Sierra y Asociados. This building, part of the university campus, was awarded for its use of a complete green roof and the integration of a 234 well geothermal system capable of achieving energy savings of up to 70%.
