MiniCasas Portugal
MiniCasas Portugal is a Caldas da Rainha-based company that hand-crafts tiny houses, gypsy caravans, hobbit houses, yurts and camper van con…
Eco-building Techniques
Builders and teachers working with earth, straw, lime and timber across Portugal. Learn the techniques at a workshop or hire the people who master them.
Projects in this focus
Eco||Sistema – Construções em Madeira
Eco||Sistema is a wood-frame construction company in Valença, Portugal, working with FSC-certified timber and natural materials since 2005. …
BUILT CoLAB
BUILT CoLAB is a collaborative research laboratory in Porto focused on the digital and ecological transition of the construction sector. It …
Ligno Tiny Home
Ligno Tiny Home is a tiny house manufacturer based in Colos, Odemira, that designs and builds compact homes on trailers or fixed bases.
Obras de Terra
Obras de Terra is a one-person consultancy in Portugal specialising in natural building, building pathology diagnosis and geoenvironmental h…
Ecopassive Houses
Ecopassive Houses is a Portuguese website dedicated to passive and ecological construction, offering guidance, articles and resources on sus…
MF Casas de Madeira
MF Casas de Madeira is a Portuguese manufacturer of prefabricated timber houses, offering turnkey construction with certified Nordic pine an…
Casa dos Sonhos Yurts
Casa dos Sonhos Yurts is a family-run enterprise based in the Portalegre district of Portugal that handcrafts self-supporting yurts using lo…
Residual Studio
Residual Studio is a Lisbon-based architecture, design and research atelier focused exclusively on sustainability and circular economy, crea…
Aldeias de Pedra – Construções
Aldeias de Pedra – Construções is a natural construction company in Vila de Rei that restores traditional buildings and brings in modern com…
Christian Neuner Architecture
An architecture studio in Lagos, Portugal, designing ecological, bioclimatic and health-conscious buildings for private and commercial clien…
Studio Detelic
Architecture studio in Lagos, Algarve, founded in 1996, specialising in residential, hotel, cultural and commercial projects, with quality, …
Ecocentro Raiz4
Ecocentro Raiz4 is a research centre in Castelo Branco, Portugal, working on permaculture, bioconstruction and sustainability. It combines t…
Eco Construções Portugal
Eco Construções Portugal is a bio-construction company based in the North of Portugal, specializing in natural, sustainable building techniq…
Woodlovers Villas
Three sustainable wood and stone eco-design holiday villas in Jardim do Mar, Madeira, built by founders with a background in engineering, re…
Crivo Eco-Construção
Crivo Eco-Construção is a construction company in Trás-os-Montes, northeast Portugal, specialising in eco-building techniques and natural ma…
Natura Matéria
A University of Minho spin-off that supplies sustainable construction materials and consultancy, focusing on natural products such as hempcr…
Debarro Arquitectura
Debarro Arquitectura is an interdisciplinary bio-architecture studio working in Portugal and Argentina. It offers architectural design, natu…
Arcaya
A residential village planned for 70 hectares of protected forest in Vilamoura's Golden Triangle, Algarve, with luxury villas and apartments…
Ananda Earth Atelier
Founded by the architect Katharina, Ananda Earth Atelier is a creative and educational project. It runs online mentoring programmes and in-p…
Aresta Engenharia
Aresta Engenharia is a Portuguese engineering and construction company specialising in bio-construction, urban rehabilitation and sustainabl…
Terrapalha
Terrapalha is a natural building architecture studio founded in 2008 by architect Catarina Pinto. Based in Sintra and on the Alentejo coast,…
Arcadia Portugal
Arcadia Portugal is a sustainable living and eco-construction project in São Bartolomeu de Messines, Algarve. It is exploring earthen buildi…
Cânhamor
Cânhamor is a Portuguese company based in Garvão, in the municipality of Ourique, which produces ECOblocos® — the only complete carbon-negat…
Amorim Cork Insulation
Amorim Cork Insulation, part of the Corticeira Amorim group, makes natural cork-based insulation products for sustainable construction. Its …
Green Heritage
Green Heritage is a bio-construction company in Portugal that designs and supplies modular eco-home kits made with natural materials such as…
The Women's Natural Building Collective
The Women's Natural Building Collective (WNBC) is a group of experienced women natural builders based in the Odemira district of Southern Po…
Eco-building techniques in Portugal
Earth, straw, lime and timber are not new here, most old Portuguese village houses are some combination of stone, earth mortar and lime render. What is new is doing it deliberately, to modern standards, and getting it signed off.
The builders and teachers listed under this focus work in those materials across the country, and some teach as well as build. That matters, because the constraint on natural building in Portugal is rarely the material and usually the availability of someone who knows how to use it.
Workshops are the normal entry point, and several run over a weekend. The natural materials, superadobe and cob, and renovation and retrofitting focuses cover the specific methods. Dated activities from these projects are listed in our events calendar.