Project CEELA
Working to promote energy-efficient construction in Latin America.
Learn how WhereNext’s in-house communications agency works with Project CEELA to promote the construction of energy-efficient buildings in Latin America, mitigate the impact of climate change, and make the construction sector more sustainable.
What is CEELA?
CEELA ("Strengthening Capacities for Energy Efficiency in Buildings in Latin America" or "Fortaleciendo Capacidades para la Eficiencia Energética en Edificios en América Latina") is a project with the goal of training and advising professionals in the construction sector to promote energy-efficient buildings.
The construction sector is responsible for roughly 40% of global CO₂ emissions, with that figure expected to keep rising. Therefore, future construction projects must incorporate sustainable criteria to mitigate the impact on the climate.
Project CEELA's mission is to reduce energy consumption in buildings in Latin America while improving the comfort of their residents. The ultimate goal is to improve Latin America's economic, social, and environmental conditions by incorporating sustainability criteria into construction.
Project CEELA is financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (Agencia Suiza para Desarrollo y Cooperación).
Project CEELA will help students in Peru like Armando, by making his classroom more comfortable for study.
What are CEELA's Principles?
CEELA operates on 15 key principles of "Energy Efficiency and Adaptive Comfort" (Eficiencia Energética y Confort Adaptativo or 'EECA'). The fifteen principles are divided into two categories: design and construction, and technical.
Design and Construction
Integrated Design
Control of direct solar radiation
Incorporated energy
Incorporated thermal isolation
Reduction of toxic materials
Airflow
Fossil fuel reduction
Cooling at night
Bioclimatic Design in Outdoor Spaces
Technical
High-efficiency electric equipment and lighting
User behavior
Conscious water usage
Efficient air conditioning
Self-generating renewable electrical energy
Monitoring
These 15 principles allow architects and engineers to design, implement, and operate sustainable buildings; they can adopt these principles to create new buildings operating at the highest standards of energy efficiency.
Incorporating these sustainability criteria into design and construction can contribute to mitigation and adaptation to the effects of climate change. Since Latin America is considered one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, applying these principles could be fundamental in transforming the impact of the construction sector there.
Roberto Maldivo is the Director of the ‘Pueblo Bonito’ Residential Complex project, which follows CEELA’s 15 principles.
What We Do for CEELA
Story365 Digital Content Production and Feed Management
Our video marketing agency works with CEELA to promote its goals and principles by managing its social media presence on Facebook and LinkedIn. We post 12 times a month to each of these channels. Additionally, our digital marketing team meets with them regularly: WhereNext, rather than simply managing their social media, is part of CEELA's overall strategy with the project managers. We also have a monthly project meeting to discuss what topics will be covered in our monthly posts.
Educational Animations and Manuals
In addition to our role in their social media presence, our video marketing agency team produces a monthly animation explaining a different sustainable construction principle. Our marketing team has also worked on designing a series of graphic implementation manuals explaining other CEELA projects in Colombia.
Regionally Focused Video Productions
Additionally, our video and production team has filmed and edited a series of videos for CEELA in Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. These videos highlight specific case studies of CEELA projects or local initiatives that comply with CEELA's key concepts and 15 principles.
Using our footage and interviews from these four videos, we edited a general overview video for CEELA, explaining their principles and concepts. You can watch this introductory video at the start of this blog post.
You can learn more about each project and see the videos below.
CEELA Mexico
We filmed our CEELA video in Mexico at Pueblo Bonito residential complex in Cuernavaca. This complex was built according to CEELA's 15 principles and offers a lesson in sustainable architecture and construction methods.
Pueblo Bonito residential complex in Cuernavaca, Mexico
We interviewed residents of Pueblo Bonito who spoke about how moving to the community has improved their quality of life. We also interviewed the director of the Pueblo Bonito project about their goals with this residential complex and the architect responsible for CEELA's Mexico showcase, who spoke about CEELA's three fundamental construction goals and how they are being applied in the complex.
Watch our video from Cuernavaca, Mexico, below:
CEELA Ecuador
In Ecuador, CEELA has been working with Azuay University in Cuenca, whose goal as an institution is to be an example of how educational buildings can reduce CO₂ emissions, generate their own energy, and improve the comfort of their students.
Their CEELA showcase building has allowed their campus to improve energy efficiency and educate students, future engineers, and designers about CEELA's principles. In this way, Azuay University can positively impact both the present and future of sustainable construction in Ecuador.
Students of Azuay University in Cuenca, learning about sustainable and energy-efficient architecture.
Watch the video from Cuenca, Ecuador, below:
CEELA Peru
Our video for CEELA Peru focused on the Moisés Rebata Primary School in the community of El Ingenio in Nazca, Peru. The students of this school suffer significantly from the high temperatures and inefficient construction of their school: it's often too hot for them to concentrate and learn properly.
This CEELA project aims to renovate and remodel the school based on CEELA principles and improve these young students' educational experience and comfort.
The young students of Moisés Rebata Primary School in El Ingenio, Nazca, Peru will benefit from Project CEELA.
Watch the video from El Ingenio, Nazca, Peru, below:
CEELA Colombia
Our video for CEELA Colombia was filmed in the beautiful heritage town of Barichara in the Santander region. Houses in Barichara have traditionally been built using clay. The town's traditional architecture offers a lesson in how so-called "old" construction styles can provide surprising benefits when it comes to thermal comfort. These clay walls absorb heat slowly throughout the day and release it overnight, meaning buildings are cooler during the hottest parts of the day and warmer overnight.
Local builders from Barichara working with clay.
We interviewed local builders who have been working with clay their entire lives and a local architect who explained how these buildings could be as equally aesthetically pleasing as they are energy efficient. The video focuses on how Project CEELA is seeking to take the lessons learned in Barichara and apply them on a broader scale nationally.
You can watch the video from Barichara, Colombia, below:
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