At first glance it is like always, but in reality it is new. Barcelona tests the panot of the 21st century, the new tile with the most characteristic designs – the tablet and the flower – but with innovative properties (recycled material, more porosity that minimizes the heat island effect, less noise upon impact, greater resistance and durability, reduction of the carbon footprint in its production...). In short, an innovative pavement that is more resilient to the climate emergency.
The pieces, designed by three groups of companies and experts, winners of the challenge launched by the City Council through the Fundació BIT Hàbitat, endowed with 240,000 euros, have begun to be placed on a section of Almogàvers street, between Badajoz and Roc Boronat , in the Sant Martí district, which is being transformed into a green axis. They will be evaluated for twelve months in different positions on an area of 2,500 square meters. Initially, it was planned to put them in the recently remodeled Consell de Cent, Comte Borrell, Rocafort and Girona, in Eixample, but there was no time to manufacture them.
“This is not a competition between three panots, but about finding the best solutions to face the climate challenge,” said the first deputy mayor, Laia Bonet, this Tuesday. Thus, the conclusions of the test should serve to determine the characteristics of these pieces for future public works tenders. The mayor highlighted the “collaborative work between industry, academia and experts” that has resulted in “brave proposals that will help us advance in the transformation of the city.”
The first tile, Panot from the 21st century, has been led by Breinco, with support and collaboration from Esitec, Smart Engineering and the architects Jordi Henrich, Danae Esparza, Javier Vergel, and Antoni Remesar. The piece placement system stands out, with sockets and without mortar, which allows the reuse of almost 100% of the units in maintenance operations, thus maximizing their durability. This system also facilitates greater water permeability of the entire construction section, so that the pavement allows better filtration and prevents accumulation. It achieves a significant reduction in CO2 emissions of up to 30%, is composed of a maximum of 30% recycled aggregates, and improves acoustic performance by up to 14% (-10 dBA). Finally, it reduces energy and water consumption by 19% and 38% due to dry manufacturing.
Panot is the name of the second proposal, by Constraula, from the Sorigué group, with the collaboration of Miren Etxebarria (materials research at the UPC), José Lucas Masero (sustainable construction at ITEC) and Pavimentos Millaret. The optimization of the section of the tile piece stands out, through the material composition, reducing the thickness by 25% while maintaining its capacities. Also the incorporation of recycled aggregates, up to 32%, as well as cement with a lower impact on CO2 emissions. Reduces the use of cement by 16% and a reduction in CO2 emissions of up to 42%. In addition, it aims to reduce atmospheric pollutants in the city through photocatalytic and self-cleaning activity, thanks to a product with these properties that is added to the surface of the pieces.
Escofet, a company with a long history in the panots of Barcelona - in 1906 it won the competition called by the City Council to unify the Eixample pavement - has developed the R3PANOT model, with the support of Promsa and Eurecat. It stands out for the use of cement from steel slag, with a very important impact on the reduction of CO2 equivalent emissions, almost 70% less in the carbon footprint. The use of thicker pieces allows for improved performance, durability and reuse. Likewise, the tile incorporates a maximum of 30% recycled aggregates. In addition, this model has 100% recyclability of the waste in raw materials.
