Terrassa has been a key site for an innovative construction solution: prefabricated facades with advanced functionalities that enhance energy efficiency, reduce costs, and shorten installation times. Part of the European PLURAL project, these “plug-and-use” facades are manufactured off-site and directly installed over existing buildings, minimizing noise and disruption while improving aesthetics and sustainability.

The Terrassa pilot project has achieved near-zero energy consumption by integrating smart energy management, photovoltaic systems, and efficient climate control. A multidisciplinary team, including Picharchitects/Pich Aguilera, Denvelops, and researchers from IREC, collaborated to develop and implement this approach.

Jordi Pascual, Jordi Macià and Angelos Mylonas, the researchers from the REACT department at IREC involved in PLURAL, contributed with intelligent energy management algorithms that optimize renewable energy use and enable early fault detection in heating and ventilation systems. Pascual, emphasized that such solutions accelerate building rehabilitation at lower costs while supporting smart energy grids.

Funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 program with a €9.5 million budget, PLURAL has successfully demonstrated its model in Terrassa and other European cities like Athens and Kasava, positioning itself as a benchmark for sustainable building renovation.

Today, we launch a press release in Catalan (CAT) and Spanish (ES):

This project has received funding from the European Union´s Horizon 2020 Programme for research and
innovation under grant agreement No. 958218.