Design and Sustainable Processes Integrated in the Construction of Buildings: CASA TERRA – Atelier O’Reilly

Lorea Durana D’Errico, and Célia Regina Moretti Meirelles

Mackenzie Presbiterian University, Sao Paolo, Brazil

Abstract: The impact of a building on the environment is relevant in the context of the extraction of non-renewable materials due to its depletion of primary sources. From UN Agenda 21 in 1992, a new look at renewable materials such as wood and bamboo has been established. Another question that arises is how the architectural design can integrate conditions that minimize the use of primary energy without losing qualitative comfort conditions. The aim of this paper is to evaluate which features make a building more sustainable in the design and life cycle of the building. The methodological procedures start from the literature review, as well as from a case study of single-family housing “Casa terra - Atelier O’Reilly”. In recent decades there has been an evolution in wood building systems with the production of new panels, as well as a development of communication and control systems allowed by the BIM (Building Information Model). Therefore, industrialized buildings associated with renewable materials with higher CO₂ absorption and a longer life cycle, combined with a bioclimatic project, have become indispensable for the survival of the environment and, consequently, the quality of life in cities.

Key words: sustainability, prefabrication, wood, industrialization