Exploring the influence of austerity on the sustainability performance delivered within four Spanish hospital projects

The economic recession in Spain (2008-2012) has resulted in a period of unprecedented austerity as the Government attempted to align with the requirements of EC financial aid. Budgets for new hospital projects were significantly reduced and many on-going projects forced to adjust their initial proposals to fit with the new economics. As the crisis eases this research seeks to explore the impact of the economic crisis on the priority placed on sustainability in new hospital projects during this period asking whether it was 1) perceived as a luxury against other priorities and removed, 2) retained purely as a requirement (i.e. CTE-2006) or 3) embraced as a driver to reduce operational lifecycle costs and if so to what extent did this go beyond energy. Four hospitals projects located in Pamplona (Navarra) reflecting a staggered timeline in their inception (before, during and after the economic crisis) are evaluated through a triangulation of methods (checklists, project documents and interviews) and a common evaluation framework based around BREEAM and CTE. Analysis revealed that sustainable measures which were regulated by legislation and those which have been proven to achieve an economic benefit over the buildings lifecycle have been retained and implemented despite the budget cuts.