REAL ESTATE the local community to enjoy both spaces. This link provides the neigh-borhood with fountains, vegetables, and shallow water features. The air smells of lavender, thyme, bay leaves, grass, newly planted olive trees, and plant species selected to reduce the use of recycled water or collect rainwater. “Where there was once a barren plot, suddenly there’s an orchard for the whole neighborhood to use,” enthuses Martínez. The trees, the nature, will also grow inside the building over a bed of stone and masonry, on the unexpected Garden Floor, which brings the forest into the building and the building out into the garden. And, below ground, there’s a 2,422-square-meter sports area. Ombú also does its utmost to prevent travel by private transport. It has three entrances: one for private use, one for pedestrians, and a third that connects to a park-ing lot with charging points for electric vehicles and bikes. UNION, SIMPLICITY, SYNERGY These are the pieces in a synergistic Lego set, the pieces that enable cooperation as the key to regeneration. And cooperation is the foremost of the company’s own pieces, which bring its expertise to the table: its water, energy, real estate, construction, infrastructure, innovation, and environment divisions, the Chairman’s Office... and cooperation with the city through local communities, to explain the respectful presence of their new neighbor. Ombú also belongs to them. What overall impression would this guided tour leave? Perhaps one of that apparent simplicity described above; everything revolves around it. There’s nothing harder than finding simple solutions to complex problems. It was a quality present from the outset in Foster’s original drawings, which are remarkably easy to read and interpret. Once again, there are echoes of Miró when he said, “It’s taken me my whole life to paint like a child.” AVANT-GARDE TRADITION THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ARCHITECT of THE PAST HALF-CENTURY DRAWS WITH UNFLAGGING ENERGY. LIFE IS A SERIES OF STROKES, AND HIS LATEST CANVAS, A BUILDING THAT ONCE PRODUCED FOSSIL FUEL, CONVERTED INTO A BENCHMARK FOR GREEN ARCHITECTURE. Norman Fosterfounder and executive chairman of foster + partners “Sustainability is compatible with high quality of life” The company used BIM, Revit, and 3D-simulation software for precise design of all of the wooden pieces. This use of prefab and dry construction contributed to achieving zero waste. 75% of the waste created on site was recycled, and a robot measured distances and volumes to limit dis-crepancies to five centimeters or less. The 1903 overhead crane was mounted on wooden pillars. It has actually been maintained, although it’s now fixed in place, complete with the iron spiral stair-case that provided access to it. The 1,600 cubic meters of timber used came from FSC/PEFC certified sustainable forests.