Obras de Terra
Obras de Terra is a one-person consultancy in Portugal specialising in natural building, building pathology diagnosis and geoenvironmental h…
Natural Materials
Hemp, cork, earth and stone, materials that breathe, store carbon and age well. Portuguese pioneers like Cânhamor are making them available at building scale.
Projects in this focus
MF Casas de Madeira
MF Casas de Madeira is a Portuguese manufacturer of prefabricated timber houses, offering turnkey construction with certified Nordic pine an…
Residual Studio
Residual Studio is a Lisbon-based architecture, design and research atelier focused exclusively on sustainability and circular economy, crea…
Pinho&Palha
Pinho&Palha is a project in Sarilhos Grandes, Portugal, oriented towards sustainability.
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…
Terrapalha
Terrapalha is a natural building architecture studio founded in 2008 by architect Catarina Pinto. Based in Sintra and on the Alentejo coast,…
Natural building materials in Portugal
Hemp, cork, earth, lime, straw and stone share three properties that industrial alternatives struggle with: they let a wall move moisture rather than trap it, they hold carbon rather than emit it, and they age without failing. In a climate with hot summers and damp winters, the first of those matters more than it sounds.
Cânhamor makes hemp building materials in Portugal at a scale a contractor can actually order. Cork, which the country produces more of than anywhere else, is used here as insulation as well as flooring.
Supply is the recurring problem, much of this exists as small production runs. The hemp construction and eco-building techniques focuses list who is making and using what. Dated activities from these projects are listed in our events calendar.