Field visit to GAIURB social housing projects (Vila Nova de Gaia)

By Dejan Doljak

During my secondment in Portugal (September 3-17th), I had the incredible opportunity to explore social housing projects in the city of Vila Nova de Gaia. I was welcomed there by Ricardo (a civil engineer) and João (an architect) from Gaiurb, the municipal housing company of the city of Vila Nova de Gaia. They showed me to various neighborhoods where social housing projects were created to help vulnerable populations.

During my visit, I was particularly interested in the measures that Gaiurb is implementing for improving energy efficiency and maintenance – a key topic in today’s social housing sector: improving energy efficiency and using renewable energy for self-consumption contributes to increasing the quality of buildings, thus making them more habitable and comfortable for residents, but also helps alleviating energy poverty for low-income families.

First, we visited the social housing neighborhood D. Armindo Lopes Coelho, located in the parish of Olival, in the southeast part of the municipality. Built-in the late 1990s, the social housing park is already showing signs of intermediate degradation, including cracks in façade cladding and rainwater infiltration. Interventions for gaining energy efficiency began eight years ago, with a complete replacement of the roof insulation in two phases. Following the roof renovations, the facade renovations began. As Ricardo said, they utilized Expanded PolyStyrene (EPS) as an insulation material because of its excellent thermal characteristics and low cost. In this location, the municipality also maintains spaces where old furniture and appliances, and other recyclable materials are stored.

After that, we visited the Alberto Martins Andrade social housing neighborhood in the parish of S. Félix da Marinha. There, we wanted to check out the pilot project “Social + Sustainable Action Office”, also promoted by Gaiurb. This project is based on modular constructions made entirely from wood. Solar panels are installed on the roof to supply power for lighting, air conditioning, and other appliances. The building has an office for social workers who offer services and support to residents, as well as a multipurpose room for the educational activities of youths. The municipality also responded to residents’ input by proving an additional a plot for gardening in the neighborhood. Currently, there are plans to renovate the sports field and create new areas for children and the elderly.

João also showed me one of the more recent social housing (D. Manuel Clemente) projects located in the center of Vila Nova de Gaia. As a result of the new regulation in the social housing sector, solar thermal panels for sanitary hot water were installed on the roof. In Vila Nova de Gaia I also had the chance of learning about Diana Mota’s project Escola Oficina, which began in 2015 in the Balteiro social housing project. The aim of the project was to employ 12 social housing tenants facing long-term unemployment and raise awareness around the concept of circular economy. The school started with sewing training and eventually grew to include cardboard making. To motivate the trainees, they were offered the opportunity to develop quality products for sale using waste and other materials for potential reuse, with the money going to the trainees themselves. This approach helped the Escola Oficina to work effectively and provide practical, informal, and exciting training not only for social housing tenants but for all residents. Since its beginnings, the project has helped over 5,700 people; over 1.4 tons of waste materials were collected, and their use saved over 300,000 liters of water and reduced CO2 emissions by more than 19 tons.