The goal of the H2O Building, ICRA's headquarters, inaugurated on 7 October 2009, is to position the Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA ) as a key national infrastructure within the National Research and Innovation Agreement (PNRI), which is intended to consolidate the focus on the knowledge economy.
The ICRA ’s new headquarters, with its emblematic Water Building, has top-level research teams, facilities equipped with the latest technology, and research projects capable of attracting the best talent in Spain and abroad, in order to successfully address the challenges raised by the complex, cross-sectional problems posed by water.
The H2O Building consists of 3 modules (M1, M2 and M5) – with the possibility of expanding to 5 (M3 and M4) – with a surface area of 6,770 m2. Its purpose is to transfer knowledge to companies and society, continuous training and specialization of technicians and promote research lines and projects.
With more than 20 laboratories and other areas for offices, storage and pilot plants, equipped for both research work in chemical or biological analysis and for experiments in aquatic environments, and equipped with computer hardware for economic and social projects, the complex offers shared research areas, analysis platforms and rooms with multimedia equipment, among others.
Module M1 is used for common services, Module M2 houses offices and research laboratories and Module 5 houses the shared research areas and the Scientific and Technical Services.
Module M1 is used for common services. On the ground floor, there is the building entrance and reception area, the functions room and the seminar rooms. The first floor houses the institute’s administrative and management services. The second floor has common eating and reading areas for the researchers.
Module M2 houses offices and research laboratories, with one floor for each of the ICRA ’s three research areas.
Finally, module M5 houses the shared research areas and the Scientific and Technical Services.
The building consists of a ground floor, two upper floors and a basement.
The scientific facilities of ICRA have been cofinanced by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) under the Catalan FEDER Operative Program 2007-2013.
