Obras de Terra

Obras de Terra is a consultancy and training practice built around natural construction and building health. It is run by Américo Firmino, who trained in Conservation and Rehabilitation of Buildings at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa and holds a specialisation in geoenvironmental health from the Instituto para la Salud Geoambiental in Madrid. He is also a certified IEFP trainer. Before turning to construction, Firmino spent decades in photography, film, sound and video, working with the Companhia Nacional de Bailado, the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos and Culturgest, where he coordinated audiovisuals from 1993. His interest in natural building began in 2011, and since then he has studied Nubian and Mexican vault techniques, clay, lime and plaster systems, thatched roofing with Master António Gandano, and geobiology with Fernando Pérez. In 2014 he directed the Taipa 2 project, a rammed-earth building completed in 2015. The practice's services cover pathology diagnosis, building and technical installation inspection, wood assessment, thermography, radon gas measurement and mitigation, geoenvironmental analysis, and legal support in construction disputes. Its geoenvironmental analysis service assesses air and water quality and exposure to harmful agents in homes and workplaces, on the premise that the places people live and work in affect their health directly. Firmino is a member of Centro da Terra and works as a trainer in bioconstruction, alongside consultancy and expert appraisal work on the restoration of old buildings. He says teaching is where he feels most useful, and he is working towards a book bringing together his knowledge of construction and its effects on people's lives, aimed at readers without a technical background.