Sustainability Report

Sustainability information provided by Tiago do Vale, Senior Architect.

Embodied carbon overview

• No formal life cycle assessment or dedicated sustainability summary was prepared for Cerdeiras House Hotel. Sustainability was nevertheless central to the project in a broader and concrete sense, particularly through the rehabilitation and adaptation of the existing fabric, the use of long-lasting local materials and traditional construction systems, and the careful upgrading of the building for its new use as a hotel.
• The project recognised that the house was the result of successive cycles of construction, abandonment, reconstruction, and transformation. The most important environmental decision was to continue that history rather than replace it: retaining the surviving facades, preserving the logic of the existing ensemble, reconstructing lost elements only where meaningful, and adding new volumes in a clear but subordinate way.
• The project was guided by a rehabilitation-based approach, retaining what could be retained and reconstructing where there was architectural and cultural value in doing so. Local materials, local suppliers, and local building techniques were used throughout the project.
• The materials include granite, schist, timber, ceramic tiles, hydraulic tiles, roof tiles, marble, limestone, and painted joinery. These robust and familiar materials are connected to local building traditions and were selected with retention, reuse, durability, maintenance, adaptability, and the possibility of future repair in mind.
• Identified manufacturers, suppliers, and fabricators include Secil for concrete and mortars; Portilame for timber structures; BMI Cobert for roof tiles; Gyptec for drywall systems; Finsa for MDF and wood veneers; Carpintaria Parente for carpentry, kitchen cabinets, and furniture; Aleluia for ceramic tiles; Azulima for hydraulic tiles; MAS Pavimentos e Madeiras for timber flooring; and GRE Exportação de Granito, ALP Stone, and Granifinas for marble and stone.
• The main benchmark was the building itself: its history, material intelligence, construction logic, and the environmental common sense embedded in traditional rural architecture.

Operational emissions overview

• The existing building was upgraded to meet contemporary comfort and performance requirements through improvements to both the envelope and building services.
• New thermal insulation was introduced to the walls and ceilings, together with double- and triple-glazed windows. Cortizo supplied the window frames and skylight systems, while Guardian Glass supplied the glazing. Both were installed by Metaloantas.
• Heat pumps supplied by Termobrasa were introduced alongside Mitsubishi Electric air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation systems installed by Jocape. Groundwater is used to water the surrounding plot.
• The design also makes use of the site’s existing environmental qualities, including thick masonry, shaded thresholds, patios, controlled openings, timber slatting, and the terraced relationship with the landscape.

Service and maintenance emissions overview

• Sustainability informed the selection of materials and systems through the way each could contribute to the long-term life of the building.
• The project relies on robust, repairable, and familiar materials associated with local traditions, suppliers, and construction techniques. Durability, maintenance, adaptability, and the possibility of future repair were central concerns.
• Traditional construction systems were retained or reconstructed where meaningful, while contemporary materials and services were introduced to support the building’s new use. Identified products include Onduline roof waterproofing systems, CIN paints, Efapel electrical hardware, and JNF metal hardware.
• The sustainability of Cerdeiras House Hotel lies above all in the idea of permanence through transformation: extending the life of an existing rural structure, respecting the intelligence of its materials and construction systems, and enabling it to support a new programme without erasing the layers that preceded it.