The city of Lugo is constructing a biodynamic neighbourhood

An innovative approach to modern living

The Galician city of Lugo has dedicated a part of its area to a project that intends to convert a formerly industrial area into an urban district for the future taking into account the new guidelines and standards that emphasize sustainability in construction, management, maintenance, living and working there. The name of the project is LIFE Lugo +Biodinámico, referring to a flexible relationship with the environmental surroundings, and care in design.

The project planners have developed the concept of ‘multi-ecological neighbourhood’ in order to describe the result

The initiative, which sees partnership and funding coming from the local City Council as well as from the European Union and academia (The Universities of Santiago de Compostela and Madrid Polytechnical are on board), is taking cues not only from the general drive to ‘green up’ things, but also by the necessities and deficiencies created in the wake of the pandemic crisis, such as the need for more space despite social isolation.

Project developers are hoping to take the best features of nature, rural and urban life and combine them together into a new concept neighbourhood, which they have called ‘multi-ecological’. The residential part is planned to include 1200 homes and low-population density, hence the rural feel. The nature component comes from the commitment to local flora, such as restoring wetlands in the peripheries and planting native trees, such as cherry, ash, oak and prairie.

The role of trees is central also as a construction material. This is a nod and support for the Galician timber industry, but it is also a decision borne out of environmental rationality as wooden buildings are more energy-efficient than concrete or steel ones.

The centrepiece of the new neighbourhood will be the Impulso Verde (‘Green Impulse’) building, which will combine municipal administrative functions with business offices and urban gardens – making it a sort of a multi-purpose community hub. Its construction is already underway and its projected look can be seen on the pictures above.