1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Bilbao
Region
Europe
Short description of the intervention
This project deals with the creation of a green roof and a green area around the new headquarters of the IDOM Group (an independent multinational company that offers professional integrated services in Consulting, Engineering and Architecture around the world), located in an old French warehouse (a customs warehouse) on the Deusto canal in the port of Bilbao. It has an area of ​​14,400 m2 dedicated to offices, research and development spaces such as white room and workshop prototypes, and social spaces. (Ref 1)
Address

Av Zarandoa Etorbidea, 23,
48015 Bilbao, Vizcaya, Spain
48015 Bilbao
Spain

Location
Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place
Total area
14400.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Building
Website of the intervention
https://www.mascontext.com/issues/30-31-bilbao/idom-offices/
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
unknown
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2010
End date of the intervention
2011
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Goals of the intervention
The new headquarters of the IDOM Group was designed to reflect the philosophy of its own company, which is rooted in sustainability ideals. The intervention is a result of incorporating passive bioclimatic architecture design principles and climate change adaptation criteria (Ref 2). It aimed at installing a green roof and creating green areas around the building (Ref 1).
Quantitative targets
Unknown
Monitoring indicators defined
Unknown
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change adaptation
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
Climate change adaptation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Reduce the impacts of climate risks events on urban places and communities
Build resilience
Climate change adaptation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Increase or improve urban vegetation cover to help reduce outdoor temperature
Implementation activities
The roof deck consists of a ‘green blanket’ that is made of grass for the flat surfaces and artificial turf for the folded surfaces. This ‘green blanket’ hides the air conditioning equipment of the building, and thus reduces sonic and visual impacts. Furthermore, the green space on the roof serves as a resting area, as its hill-like surface design encourages peers to stroll, relax, and converse with peers. (Ref 4)
Type of NBS project
Creation of new green areas
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Nature on buildings (external)
Green roofs
Grey infrastructure featuring greens
Institutional green space
Please specify other type of green roof
Unknown
Type of Green Roof
Other
Vegetation Type
Grass
Amenities offered by the NBS
Unknown
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Regulating services
Local climate regulation (temperature reduction)
Air quality regulation
Noise reduction
Carbon storage/sequestration
Water purification / filtration
Mediation of smell / noise / visual impacts
Cultural services
Social and community interactions
Scale
Spatial scale
Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Private sector/Corporate/Company
Governance
Governance arrangements
Led by non-government actors
Non-government actors
Private sector/Corporate/Business
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
The project is the oeuvre of a private company, IDOM, which financed the project in collaboration with an architectural firm. The close collaboration with Javier Pérez Uribarri, author of the project and head of ACXT, the engineering architecture firm Bilbao, was essential to ensure the correct realization of the creative freedom of the architect and, at the same time, to maximize the strict premises of established sustainability and energy efficiency. (Ref 3)
Key actors - initiating organization
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Land owners
No information found
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Land owners
No information found
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Unknown
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
This NBS mentions its connection with the Proyecto de Ley Vasca de Cambio Climático, Climate Change Strategy of the Basque Country (regional government) to 2050 (Ref 5)
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
No
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
No
Co-finance for NBS
Unknown
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
More than €4,000,000
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
13 million Euros for IDOM building development (Ref 4)
Source(s) of funding
Corporate investment
Type of fund(s) used
Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Please specify other Business model
Sustainable building creation (Ref 2,4,6)
Business models
Risk reduction model
Other
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Private for-profit actor (e.g. firm, insurer)
Type of innovation
Technological
Product innovation
Please specify technological innovation
For the region of Bilbao, this is one of the first green roofs installed. Also, it hinders much of the technical equipment used to acclimatize the building (3)
Novelty level of the innovation
Ambiguous (e.g. multiple interpretations)
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
One of the sources mentions that Barcelona has been a pioneer city in installing green roofs but it doesn't offer more information or a specific date (4)
Replicability/Transferability
The innovation is not referred to as being transferred to new initiative(s)
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
The innovation is not mentioned as being transferred (2)
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Climate change
Lowered local temperature
Enhanced carbon sequestration
Environmental quality
Improved air quality
Reduced noise exposure
Water management and blue areas
Improved water quality
Improved stormwater management
Green space and habitat
Promotion of naturalistic styles of landscape design for urban development
Increased green space area
Description of environmental benefits
Green Space Creation/ Naturalistic Urban Design:
The ‘green carpet’ is designed to mimic hills (Ref 4)

Water Quality/ Flood Reduction:
A green roof absorbs rain water by the water buffering in the plants, substrate and drainage layer. This delays the discharge of rainwater to the sewage system, purifies the rainwater, and water also evaporates through the plants. This all helps to stabilize the groundwater level, reduces the peak load on the sewage system and reduces the risk of flooding. (Ref 2)

Air Quality:
The plants in a green roof filter particulate matter from the air and convert CO2 into oxygen. With a green roof you are contributing to air purification. (Ref 2)

Temperature Regulation:
Plants absorb sunlight, 50% is absorbed and 30% reflected; so this helps to create a cooler and more pleasant climate. (Ref 2)

Visual/Noise Impacts:
-The green roof acts as a sound barrier to the building. It absorbs sound and thus provides a quieter environment, both inside and outside the building. (Ref 6)
-It also reduces visual impacts by covering AC equipment. (Ref 4)
Economic impacts
Unknown
Description of economic benefits
Unknown
Social and cultural impacts
Social justice and cohesion
Increased opportunities for social interaction
Description of social and cultural benefits
The green roof serves as a resting area, and its hill-like surface design encourages peers to stroll, relax, and converse with peers. (Ref 4)
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Creation of green space (Ref 4,6)
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Environmental quality
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown as of 6 October 2020
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
No evidence in public records
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Unknown
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
Yes
Link to monitoring/evaluation reports
http://www.upv.es/contenidos/CAMUNISO/info/U0660239.pdf
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
It is mentioned that the building received The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating. (Ref 2)
Link to the output of assessments
http://www.upv.es/contenidos/CAMUNISO/info/U0660239.pdf
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Ref. 4 Project by IDOM
Ref. 6 Sustainable architecture: Idom Headquarters in Bilbao
Documents relevant to the intervention
Attachment Size
Ref. 2 (7.89 MB) 7.89 MB
Ref. 5 (5.09 MB) 5.09 MB
List of references
1. Bilbao Architecture. (n.d.). Sede de Idom. [Not available in 2020].
2. ihobe. (2014). Edificación y Rehabilitación Ambientalmente Sostenible en Euskadi: 13 casos prácticos de excelencia ambiental. [Document provided].
3. Iturbe, M. (2015). CALORYFRIO. Techos verdes para reducir el consumo de energía en los edificios. Available at: https://blog.caloryfrio.com/techos-verdes-para-reducir-el-consumo-de-energia-en-los-edificios/ [Accessed: 7 October 2020].
4. Mascontext. (2020). Project by IDOM. Available at: http://www.mascontext.com/issues/30-31-bilbao/idom-offices/ [Accessed: 7 October 2020].
5. Basque Country. (2015). Climate Change Strategy of the Basque Country to 2050. [Document provided].
6. FloorNature. (2013). Sustainable architecture: Idom Headquarters in Bilbao, ACXT. Available at: http://www.floornature.com/blog/sustainable-architecture-idom-headquarters-in-bilbao-acxt-8611/ [Accessed: 7 October 2020].
Comments and notes
Comments
It seems like it is more like a green deck than a green roof, but the sources refer to it as a 'roof'. Additionally, regarding the green space surrounding the building, I was unable to verify this detail, as it came from Reference 1, which is no longer available in 2020.

Though there are no mentions as in terms of national strategies that influenced this NBS and the fact that it was done by a private institution, I selected as an answer NO, for questions in the PD and Enablers sections
Additional insights
From the beginning, the design focused on the role of the roof, formerly used to store goods. A green carpet has been designed as if simply placed over the roof, hiding all the air conditioning units and creating a new topography. Folds and surfaces resemble a hill on which to stroll, relax, and converse with peers, as this is the floor intended as the resting area. The flat surface of the carpet has grass, while the folded part covering the mechanical units has artificial turf for maintenance and weight reasons. (Ref 4)
Pictures of the NBS
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/idomroof.jpg
Public Images
Idom 3
Source: Ref. 4, Aitor Ortiz
Idom 1
Source: Ref. 4, Aitor Ortiz
Idom 2
Source: Ref. 4, Aitor Ortiz