Aug 11 2005
Sesimbra, about 40km south of Lisbon, is the setting for Portugal’s first One Planet Living project.
The developer, Pelicano, is undertaking the world’s first-ever integrated sustainable building, tourism, nature conservation and reforestation programme. The 5,300 hectare site it to combine a 4,800ha nature reserve and cork forest restoration project with a 500 hectare tourism development comprising 6,000 units. The total investment is said to be around 1 billion Euros (around £670 million pounds).
BioRegional and WWF are working closely with the Portuguese project team over a ten-year period as advisors. Work is well advanced on an experimental “eco-house” which will form the basis of the dwellings at Sesimbra. Based on prefabricated, CFC-free polystyrene blocks, the system has been tested on one of many demanding villa designs currently under construction on Pelicano’s Palmela Village development. And it cuts construction times by 75%.
According to Paulo Reis Silva the developer’s head of planning: “The thermal insulation qualities are excellent, allowing us to make massive reductions in energy use. The construction process produces virtually no waste and the building is very easy to dismantle at the end of its lifetime. So you can recycle and reuse the materials.
“There is no need for cranes, the area required for works is greatly reduced and there is very little in the way of building waste.”
The use of fly-ash as a substitute for cement in the concrete is helping to meet the Sustainability Action Plan’s targets of 50% less embodied CO2 and 40% less construction waste. Also passive design measures have been used to reduce energy consumption. The glass fronted dwellings maximize natural lighting ultimately leading to savings in electrical lighting. Whilst the glazing and insulation leads to reductions in energy consumption for heating and cooling.