Por Portas e Janelas

AGRITECTURE. Know-how of the land in architecture

In the penultimate episode, produced with the Lisbon Architecture Triennale as part of the Conversations et Al cycle, we meet Tânia Teixeira, architect at CRU, a studio based in Montemor-o-Novo and part of the Integral Minga Cooperative. Passionate about craftsmanship, Tânia has carried out in-depth research combined with consistent experience in building using vernacular materials and techniques. The session’s guest is Miguel Mendes, who focuses his activity on ecological architecture.

Earth has been used as a building material since the foundation of the first human settlements. This talk is a sharing of experience in responsible construction that aims to help spread the knowledge of practices based on ancestral knowledge that continue to be applied.
The session’s artifacts include a cube of poured earth and a manual for taipa, a technique for building monolithic walls in slightly moistened earth, introduced into a formwork (taipal), compacted manually with a pestle or by mechanical means. These objects prompt reflection on the interruption in the transmission of intergenerational know-how due to a lack of skilled labor. On the other hand, the research into new ways of applying traditional materials as a response to the social and climate crisis.
Tânia has been working to revalorize these techniques through the Basehabitat network, as well as founding BIØN (Building Impact Zero Network), with training initiatives for young people and adults.

The conversation extends to the public and the different types of certification for this construction system are discussed. In addition to the energy certificates that let us know how efficient our buildings are depending on their classification (A, B, C, D, E, F and G), there are now more comprehensive certificates. The aim is to assess the energy performance of these buildings and their level of sustainability in environmental, social and economic terms.
Miguel Mendes, as a collaborator with CRATerre (an institution dedicated to the study of earth as a building and construction material), brings us his experiences from around the world and how different territories adapt to conventional materials or more informal techniques.

In the next episode, we bring you the last episode of this program, with Casa de Arquitectura on the subject of HOUSING. The usual pragmatism of housing with Eduardo Souto de Moura and Nuno Sampaio, moderated by Carlos Machado e Moura.