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Sustainable building. Healthy living. Living well.

GAIA Living is our contribution to a good and sustainable life. BIC Mallorca is developing GAIA Living as a pioneering building concept for sustainability, healthy living, ecological savings potential and environmental protection.

Economical and energy efficient living in Mallorca.

Climate change is perhaps the greatest socio-economic challenge facing global humanity.

GAIA-LIVING focuses on environmentally friendly construction, the use of renewable energies and the maximum possible reduction of CO2 emissions in our projects. Conventional building construction is responsible for around 40% of European energy consumption and the construction of a 100 m2 apartment alone generates around 70 tonnes of CO2. We drastically reduce the ecological footprint of our buildings. In particular, the predominant use of wood as a building material contributes to the fact that 40% less greenhouse gases are emitted when building homes. After centuries of possible use, wood does not leave behind non-usable building rubble, but a raw material that can be reused, recycled or used to generate energy. By the way: In Spain, every minute as much wood grows back as is needed to build a house.

In addition to the advantages of sustainability, wood has excellent insulating and insulating properties. Together with our wood supplier, we have been able to improve the current wall and roof technology so that we can achieve optimum insulation values.

The architectural arrangement of the patio of GAIA Living houses serves as a great temperature regulator for the entire building. In summer it allows cross-ventilation and refreshes the indoor air. In winter it serves as a sun trap and supports the natural heating of the apartments.

Insulation, insulation values, constructive design to avoid thermal bridges, high-quality glazing systems, mobile sun protection devices, increased air tightness in the building structure lead in the final consequence to the fact that with our building physics we do not need heating. As a result, our passive energy houses save all heating costs, which account for almost half (47%) of the annual energy consumption of Spanish households.

Natural materials protect - our health and our environment.

IA Living builds as far as possible with the natural material wood. This not only has ecological and resource-saving advantages, but also actively promotes health in buildings. It fulfils all the requirements of modern building physics, is stable and meets the highest demands in terms of quality, economy and ecological sustainability, making it clearly superior to conventional construction methods by eliminating the use of construction chemicals.

  • Wood is a natural building material that does not cause allergies or other adverse reactions.
  • It does not emit radioactivity and does not cause any physical or psychological harm to people.
  • Due to its porous structure, it prevents the storage of radon, organic compounds and microscopic toxic particles, which are emitted during construction with conventional building materials and can lead to respiratory diseases.
  • Due to its thermal properties, it naturally regulates the humidity in both summer and winter.
  • Due to its porous structure, wood absorbs sound waves optimally, which supports sleep and physical and mental well-being.
  • Wood contains antibacterial substances, which reduces the risk of contracting certain diseases.
  • Wood absorbs humidity, separates it and binds carbon, thus naturally regulating the humidity balance, reducing respiratory diseases and asthma and creating a pleasant atmosphere in the home.

According to a study by the University of British Columbia, wood improves mental health and the ability to concentrate and has a stress-reducing effect.
The home for healthy, sustainable living not only protects the health of its occupants, but also influences living comfort and general well-being.
No physical, chemical or organic pollutants are emitted, and the building materials emit neither electromagnetic waves nor radioactivity.
Many natural light sources, naturally regulated temperature and ventilation as well as pleasant acoustic conditions are precisely coordinated and are developed specifically for each location.

 
An oasis of peace through efficient sound proofing.

GAIA Living is a place of relaxation. Good living offers comfort and relaxation. As such, it is a special challenge to shield the apartments in the middle of the city from the surrounding everyday noise. As such, we have carried out acoustic studies on sound insulation. The task of sound insulation is to contain the noise by interrupting the mechanical vibrations. In timber construction, components are always composed of several layers. This means that the sound is subjected to multiple resistance on its way between the components. Through targeted barriers in the house, continuous sound transmitting structures are broken up. In this way, our apartments offer privacy and tranquillity without cutting off the residents from the life of Mallorca.

Ecological living must not be a luxury.

According to Greek mythology, GAIA is the mother of all gods and the goddess of the earth and nature from which all life is born. GAIA Living is our symbiosis of the origin of nature and modern, future-oriented life. As such, we have the goal of providing all the inhabitants of Mallorca with good and sustainable living. The use of mostly local building materials reduces construction costs on the one hand, and on the other hand, heating and air-conditioning costs in passive houses are permanently avoided.

We want to create good living for future generations. Therefore, we not only think about ecological compatibility but also about socio-economic compatibility from the very beginning.

How does Covid-19 influence our living?

As residents of Mallorca we ourselves are affected by the Covid-19 crisis. We have used the past weeks to develop criteria for good and safe living. GAIA Living is also being reviewed in this regard.

Hygiene in buildings must be decisively improved.
Tap water must be available as drinking water.
The storage and cooling of food must be included in the planning.
A home based workstation with the necessary technology must be provided in all apartments.
Our building services engineering with air filter systems must enable an almost complete self-sufficiency in energy.
Sufficient in-house activity possibilities and open spaces must be created.

Many are currently asking themselves “when Corona will be over” and everything will return to normal. The realistic and honest answer to this question is  never.

The Corona situation changes the life of the individual and the coexistence of many people massively. Social distance is regarded as the supreme civic duty. What consequences will this social distance bring with it?

Many people will go less outside, to the cinema or theatre and spend more time in their own homes.
The activities of associations, from sports and cultural clubs to friends’ and supporters’ associations to the grassroots organisations of political and church life, have largely ceased, which means that social distance is being redefined in almost all areas of life.

How will we deal with the consequences of loneliness and fear, the worries and needs of the residents in the future?

Social emergencies and many unsatisfied needs require new solutions and must be dealt with.
The economic development resulting from the COVID-19 situation will lead to many companies losing liquidity and suffering financial bottlenecks. To survive the crisis, companies will have to look for savings. This will also affect the personnel area, there will be significantly more home office jobs. There will be a structural change in the working world. Tele- and videoconferencing will become part of everyday life in the future.

How must building physics and housing planning change, how can modern homes adapt to the changed requirements of the post-Corona era?

Times of crisis require us humans to change ourselves and to go new ways, to challenge our way of life, to think about the environment – this is how the future is created.
The BIC Mallorca has developed a new building concept in a year’s development time, regardless of the Covid-19 problems. Our result GAIA-Living already offers a high degree of sustainability, healthy living space, ecological saving potential and environmental protection.

Our buildings are mainly constructed from wood, the healthiest building material nature provides us with. Concrete buildings contain hundreds of toxic building materials that are harmful to our health. We install state-of-the-art water treatment systems in our buildings so that the residents have 100% drinkable and healthy water. Our cork insulation materials also contain no toxic elements. We use solar energy systems to supply the building mainly with renewable energy. Our building physics are ideally suited for certification as a passive house, which enables us to save up to 80% of the usual ancillary supply costs.

We make it our mission to continue to develop GAIA Living even and especially in the current crisis situation. Healthy sustainability in living has been brought into our consciousness at a stroke. As property developers, we are aware of this responsibility and would like to play our part with GAIA Living.