Multipanel has taken part in the latest edition of Rebuild 2023, held at the IFEMA MADRID exhibition center from March 28 to 30.
Under the slogan industrialization, sustainability, and digitalization, Rebuild represents one of the most influential technology events in the building sector. More than 22,000 people attended, including architects, construction professionals, and manufacturers, all gathering to explore the latest trends in industrialization.
Within this context, Multipanel presented its latest innovations, focusing on pre-industrialization and sustainable alternatives for modular construction and Passivhaus. Particular emphasis was also placed on showcasing samples of its main products.
In this way, attendees were able to see and touch scale representations of key construction solutions, including façade refurbishment, roofing, and interior systems with acoustic insulation, as well as decorative cladding with natural stone.
Construction solutions at the service of the project
With the MultiZero construction solution, the focus is placed on Passivhaus principles, thanks to the benefits it offers to project requirements: a high-performance thermal envelope and airtightness. This product provides some of the highest technical and practical performance in the construction sector and can be implemented both in traditional construction techniques and in lightweight Steel Framing systems.
However, the highlight of the stand was undoubtedly a scale model of a house built using several products: MultiTherm, a pre-industrialized solution consisting of prefabricated panels for enclosures; MultiStone, a 100% natural stone cladding panel; VeturKit, a modular façade system with high technical insulation; and Deco-Panel, an acoustic decorative panel system used on ceilings and walls as a noise-reduction solution.
In this way, the housing prototype brings together some of Multipanel’s solutions for roofing, enclosures, and slabs, as well as acoustic insulation.
The green roof was constructed using MultiTherm panels, a pre-industrialized solution designed for direct installation onto the structure with high load-bearing capacity.
The enclosure includes several façade proposals that can be mechanically fixed to a steel frame structure.
The composition of the model
The load-bearing core is the MultiTherm panel, first clad with HPL, a bonded laminate less than 1 mm thick. Its wide variety of finishes and colors makes it an extremely versatile product.
In another section of the model, the enclosure is finished with a 2 mm natural stone sheet, MultiStone, made of 100% natural stone.
These solutions can be custom-adapted according to the surfaces or elements of the façade.
These solutions are custom-adapted according to the surfaces or elements of the façade itself. On the ceiling, an acoustic decorative panel, Deco-Panel, was installed. Its material—polyester microfiber—has sound-absorbing properties and significantly reduces noise, as could be experienced when standing inside the model.
Finally, another side of the prototype features the VeturKit system, a modular refurbishment solution using continuous panels mounted on metal profiles. These are lightweight, insulating, easily replaceable components that can be finished in a wide variety of options.
National Congress of Advanced Architecture
One of the highlights of Rebuild 2023 was the National Congress of Advanced Architecture and Construction 4.0, where professionals have the opportunity to present their range of materials and address emerging construction topics.
Ana Bodoque Moreno, Technical Director of Multipanel, took part in this forum as the spokesperson responsible for presenting the qualities of the MultiZero solution, exploring it in depth under the topic Pre-industrialization in modular construction and Passivhaus.
She also participated as a member of the expert panel in the round table discussion Passivhaus in collective and social housing. The application of sustainable construction systems, taking into account climate conditions under Passivhaus principles, is not an exclusive matter accessible only to a few. In recent years, this concept has often been associated with luxury housing.
However, the current range of products and industrialized systems allows this type of construction paradigm to be applied to collective and social housing. “As buildings should be: comfortable, efficient, and high-performing. I would only add, since the topic is Passivhaus in collective and social housing, that they should be affordable for everyone. We need to communicate that it is possible, that it is a reality, and that building well should not be a matter of luxury. You can build following Passivhaus principles, or without them, but the key is to build well.”
Experience in Passivhaus
Multipanel, in collaboration with Grupo Lobe, demonstrated with figures at Rebuild 2023 that this statement reflects a real and ongoing trend:
“We have been working for five or six years with Grupo Lobe, who installs our multilayer panels with insulating and acoustic materials. We provide the building envelope and airtightness. We have completed two residential developments in Zaragoza. In Madrid, in El Cañaveral, the Mentha residential development; and in Valencia, with a different climate from Madrid or Zaragoza, Adagio. In total, we have built approximately 470 homes. And next month, construction will begin on Esparta, a development of 170 social housing units in Arcosur, Zaragoza. Therefore, it is a reality that social housing is being built and certified under Passivhaus standards.”
