Sustainability Report
Embodied carbon
Casa da Ilha incorporates several decisions that may reduce material-related impacts. The main strategies include:
- Local labour and suppliers: The project was adapted, where technically possible, to local construction capabilities and regional supply chains, reducing the potential need for long-distance transportation and specialised crews.
- Durable materials: Moledo stone, Cumaru timber, aluminium brise-soleils and other robust materials were selected partly for their long service life and low maintenance requirements.
- Reduced material replacement after flooding: Raising the inhabited level and using resistant, washable materials at lower levels aims to reduce the material losses associated with repeated flood damage and reconstruction.
- Rationalised planning: The compact organisation of the house reduces circulation waste and concentrates a relatively extensive programme within a restricted 360 m² site.
- Renewable and recycled materials: Cumaru is a natural timber material, while the Santa Luzia skirting-board range uses recycled polystyrene.
Operational Emissions / Energy
The strongest sustainability aspect of Casa da Ilha is its climate-responsive design. The house is located in Governador Valadares, where high temperatures and humidity create substantial cooling demand. The project reduces heat gain through:
- 1.20-metre upper-floor overhangs on the front and rear façades, providing substantial solar shading.
- Aluminium brise-soleils that filter direct sunlight on exposed vertical surfaces.
- Cross ventilation to promote passive air movement.
- A lateral winter garden and side garden, which support ventilation and introduce a landscape buffer.
- Large openings and retractable glass panels, allowing interior and exterior spaces to connect and supporting natural ventilation when climatic conditions are suitable.
- Predominantly LED lighting, reducing lighting-related electricity consumption.
- Automation systems intended to rationalise and control energy use.
Service and maintenance emissions
Casa da Ilha incorporates durability and resilience strategies intended to reduce emissions associated with repair, replacement and maintenance over its lifespan. The most important strategy is flood resilience. The main inhabited level is raised 1.70 metres above the sidewalk, compared with a maximum recorded flood level of approximately 85 cm. This reduces the risk of flood damage to principal living spaces and building equipment. Lower-level elements are designed with resistant, washable and easy-to-maintain materials, allowing the building to be cleaned and returned to use after a flood with less material replacement.
Other relevant strategies include:
- Durable natural stone cladding.
- Long-life aluminium brise-soleils.
- Cumaru timber selected for durability.
- Water-resistant and low-maintenance recycled-polystyrene skirting boards.
- Individual components such as brise-soleils, metal elements, window frames and joinery that can potentially be replaced without rebuilding the entire structure.
Afterlife
Although Casa da Ilha was designed as a single-family residence rather than an adaptive-reuse project, its structure and floor plan provide some capacity for future change. The relatively large structural spans and independent structural system allow certain internal partitions and room uses to change without altering the main structural logic. One example is a ground-floor room currently used as a children's playroom but designed so that it can later become a bedroom or accommodate another function. The large, continuous social areas, generous ceiling heights and retractable glass panels also allow different spatial arrangements and relationships between indoor and outdoor areas over time.
It is only partially designed according to design-for-disassembly principles. The conventional concrete structural system is intended as a permanent structure and was not conceived for future dismantling and reuse. However, several non-structural or independent components may be individually removed, replaced or potentially reused, including:
- Aluminium brise-soleils.
- Metal pergola elements.
- Window frames and some glazing components.
- Joinery and interior components.
- Recycled-polystyrene skirting boards.
The Santa Luzia recycled-polystyrene skirting-board range is particularly relevant because the manufacturer states that its profiles use recycled material and can themselves be recycled at the end of their service life.
Key products in low carbon design
