43 Social Housing Units on Ibiza

The use of earth walls, specifically compressed stabilised earth blocks (CSEB), also known as block terre comprimée (BTC), enhances the energy efficiency and comfort of this social housing project. The design achieves a 60% reduction in carbon emissions, with a deliberate decision to eliminate active heating and cooling systems entirely. Instead, the building’s orientation and construction are designed to regulate the internal climate, using courtyards that function as atriums in winter and solar chimneys in summer. The CSE blocks provide significant thermal inertia and mass, effectively managing acoustic separation between neighbours with a single leaf construction while also regulating ambient relative humidity. This material has a low carbon footprint, requiring less energy to produce and generating lower CO₂ emissions compared to conventional building systems.  The project also offers a non-hierarchical housing solution with equal-sized rooms, integrating both environmental and social strategies to provide sustainable, comfortable living spaces.