EXCESS partners U.rb atelier organised a follow up workshop with members of the Chamber of Architects of Valladolid, Colegio de Arquitectos de Valladolid (COAVA), in June to present progress made at the EXCESS PEB demonstration project in Valladolid (Spain): Palacio de los Miranda.

The 16th century palace building located in the historic city centre of Valladolid is currently being refurbished to a positive energy standard (PEB), with the additional challenge of keeping the original, historical building façade intact. In this second workshop, participants explored progress made at the demonstration site, which includes the entire renovation and subdivision of the building into nine separate apartment units, five of them as duplex apartments.

To minimise the energy demand while keeping the historical façade, highly energy efficient appliances and other technologies are being installed that maximise efficiency in relation to the local climatic conditions in Valladolid. The internal design of the building is designed to maximise renewable energy generation, storage integration as well as self-consumption, making it one of the very first positive energy buildings in Spain. The work on the building is setting an important precedence and blueprint for deep renovation of protected historic buildings, which currently account for more than 30% of the entire European building stock. Future proofing these historical buildings will be an important step for cities and towns across Europe in reaching their energy and emission reduction targets.