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José Rodríguez Cámara
Torremolinos
Friday, 20 December 2024, 14:52
Lego or Meccano enthusiasts have a fantastic opportunity to watch how a building is constructed using prefabricated sections - but on a life-sized scale. All they need to do is to visit the site of the former Los Álamos hotel in Torremolinos.
Since 9 September, the Oceanika project has been under construction there: 180 apartments with communal areas, green spaces, leisure zones and coworking spaces, spread across a 15,000-square-metre plot. It's a major project, but with one significant difference compared to conventional builds: the main construction material is wood. This means that the builders are essentially assembling a puzzle rather than traditional construction methods, making their workdays more productive.
Luis Acacio Ortega, deputy general manager of Nuovit Corporate, the developer behind the project, provides some details. "We did the calculations and, if we had used concrete, we would have needed around 4,000 lorries, compared to the 70 lorries carrying 3,500 cubic metres of pine from the Basque Country that we require," he explained. This approach, he notes, makes the construction not only faster but also more environmentally friendly, with 60% less carbon footprint, 25% less water consumption and 30% less waste generated. Of course, the project does include concrete and other traditional materials, but their use is largely limited to aspects such as the foundations or planters in pedestrian areas.
And, since Oceanika is being built on the site of the former hotel which had to be demolished, the rubble is also being reused.
It raises one question though: is wood a reliable material? "You only need to look at timber ceilings from 500 years ago," replied Luis Acacio Ortega.
In just four months, an entire block of 65 apartments has been finished, along with the first floor of a second block; the third block already has its foundations in place. Each floor, covering around 900 square metres, is completed in about two weeks.
On-site, the reason for the speed at which they are being built becomes apparent: a crane operator lifts the wooden panels and brings them to another worker who positions them in the exact spot. A third worker levels and screws them into place. Each panel takes no more than ten minutes.
"With a conventional system, we would still be at the structural phase," Ortega pointed out. Once each room is built in wood, it only requires the same finishing treatments as any other project, such as insulation, water and electrical systems. That said, creating conduits for wiring or plumbing are already pre-installed at the factory. All that's left to do on-site is to assemble the pieces and lay the cables and pipes.
Nuovit is working with Egoin, the company responsible for the wooden structure, and construction firm Herysan. They are also collaborating with Eoss, based in Puerto Real, which supplies the bathrooms. These are modular and mass-produced, meaning they arrive as a sealed unit, fully equipped and ready to be connected to the water and sewage networks. Nuovit's projections estimate that Oceanika will be completed by the end of August 2025, in just 12 months. So far, they are on schedule, with 30% of the project already finished.
The development also includes plans for an Aldi supermarket on the part of the plot closest to the old N340 road.
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