Greensavers: Company from Braga relocates and builds new headquarters with used tires

Article published on the Greensavers website about the Utopia Project on November 24, 2015.

Snippet transcription:

"Located 300 meters from the Cávado River in Póvoa de Lanhoso, the area has more than 1 hectare of land and is surrounded by a crystal clear stream, in the middle of a vast agricultural area where grass pastures characteristic of the Minho region predominate.

The main building of the Utopia project is a construction where the outer walls of the building are built using used tires filled with earth. This technique, developed in the 1970s by American eco-architect Michael Reynolds, was adapted to the humid climates of northern Portugal, and the entire building is suspended in the air by 34 pillars to facilitate air circulation and improve the energy efficiency of the facility. This same efficiency will be evaluated through research conducted by the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Minho."