FCC Construcción

These four buildings contain a total of 115 luxury homes. Three of the buildings (Ribera de la Nécora, Ribera del Dragoncillo and Ribera del Corvo) are similar, with 22 homes apiece, and the fourth building (Ribera de la Tenca) contains 49 homes. They were all built by Metrovacesa, and they are located in the Sotogrande Marina in San Roque, Cádiz. The architectural design for the buildings is by Joaquín Mier Enríquez, and the features that deserve special mention are these:

Foundations and plumbing

Because the land is mostly soft and prone to flooding, the foundation work was done using prefabricated pilings of different cross sections, sunk to an average depth of 25 metres and equipped with waling. Bracing beams were set on top of them, and on top of that a 30-centimetre-thick, reinforced sanitary slab was placed. The pilings were cut off as follows: After the excavation work was completed, the heights and edges of the wales were checked, all four faces of each piling were marked with paint, and the cut was made along that line.

Using a mechanical nipper, each piling was cut at about 25 or 30 centimetres above the line, so that any flaking or cracking would not reach the marked level. Next, using a radial saw with a depth control device, a cut was made along the line. Lastly, the rest of the concrete was removed with an electric compressor, leaving a completely flat, regular waling support face whose entire section could be used.

The solution found for insulating the buildings from the earth was to put in a reinforced slab with a 30-centimetre edge, creating a 30-centimetre separation chamber. The slab was made using igloo-type non-recoverable PVC caissons. The plumbing was done using prefabricated PVC catchpits and shafts.

Masonry and surfacing

The masonry was done in the traditional style with brick. The outer walls are 50 centimetres thick with polyurethane insulation. The homes are separated by siliceous-calcareous acoustic brick, and the partition walls are made of double air brick. The outer walls are decorated with mouldings, lintels, prefabricated "altarpieces", screeding, arches, etc., and pneumatically applied parging and screed. Indoors, parging was applied to garages, box rooms, lifts and machine rooms, and trim work consisted in screeded perlite plaster and plaster ceilings with mouldings and scotias of various types and proportions, depending on the different rooms.

Flooring and tiling

Flooring and tiling were done in ivory cream, Alicante red, Sierra Elvira and Indian green marble, changing by storeys in each building, in different formats and cuts, with runners in different designs for different rooms. For steps, coping stones and window ledges, ivory cream marble was used. The same material was also used in panelled bathrooms and countertops. Flat rooftops and box rooms were tiled with 14x28 ceramic tiles and stoneware tiles.

Outdoor metalwork

Schuco series S 45 anodised, polished, repolished aluminium sections were used, with multipoint closures, stainless steel tracks and vulcanised EPDM rubber seals at the corners.

In the Nécora, Dragoncillo and Corvo buildings, shutters were installed made of enamelled galvanised steel slats in various colours. In the Tenca building motorised PVC roll-down shutters controlled by the domotics system were installed.

Special facilities, domotics system

Wiring was run through ceiling and wall ducts. The homes were equipped to pick up UHF, FM and satellite broadcasts. The domotics facilities included control over shutters, air conditioning and lights to simulate that there is someone at home. The pre-installation work for computer hook-ups was done, safes were installed and air conditioning was put in, with a heat pump and fibreglass conduits.

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• Homes in Sotogrande