Ecological Architectural Choices

For our Campus at Campo de Ourique, we have opted for an ecological construction in solid wood, favouring the use of bio-sourced materials from renewable resources (cross laminated timber – CLT). Solid wood is the only structural material that stores carbon instead of emitting it. And transforming wood into CLT and transporting it requires less energy and therefore low CO2 emissions, giving timber construction an exemplary carbon footprint. Beyond the ecological process, in terms of comfort of use, solid wood offers superior insulation, soundproofing and fire resistance compared with traditional construction.

• Based on a French invention developed by engineer Pierre Gauthier in 1947 and first used by French architect Jean Prouvé, redeveloped by Swiss and Austrian industry since the early 1990s, this high-precision construction system is now known as CLT (Cross Laminated Timber);
• Made from a renewable resource that is 99% natural in origin and fully recyclable, CLT is the only structural material that stores carbon instead of emitting it;
• Solid wood offers new aesthetic, sensory and functional possibilities: the warmth of visible wood, insulation and soundproofing of rooms, and fire resistance;
• One of the advantages of CLT is that it can be totally prefabricated in the factory. BIM (Building Information Modelling) applied to CLT makes it possible to combine impeccable site preparation with a diversity of architectural forms. BIM and timber construction are a guarantee of speed and quality of execution.