Green Houses
“My House, My Food”
Award-Winning Project at the 2011 Sustainable Urban Housing International Competition – organized by the Ashoka and Rockefeller Foundations. The project was acclaimed by all American Secretariats as the only Systemic Up-Cycle Project among submissions from 40 countries, with the potential for dissemination across all 32 countries of South and Central America and globally.
The Green Houses are universal models of healthy, living housing. They feature structural walls made from local earth and reused waste transformed into blocks, floors, and tiles. The roof can either be a green roof or composed of suspended screens that function as gardens.
The walls are self-supporting, constructed from raw earth compacted into sealed molds, creating a cohesive and strong structure that eliminates the need for steel and cement. Closures, floors, roofs, and panels are crafted from various types of waste (plastics, dry organic fibers, minerals, etc.) combined with vegetable polyurethane (castor oil-based) to create clean materials. These components are more durable and resilient than traditional products on the market.
The roof garden generates an ideal internal microclimate and provides food for the occupants. This entire construction process is patented and can be transferred to communities through training programs. The goal is to multiply these housing models, achieving a cyclical and constant standard (Zero Waste + Sustainable Architecture = Renewable Energy). This project addresses two major contemporary issues: waste accumulation and the housing deficit (44% of humanity lacks housing), channeling efforts into creating new Green Sustainable Cities.
This cyclical system is highly attractive, reintegrating what was discarded into new sensory and productive purposes, transitioning from irresponsible consumption to socio-environmental RE-CONSUMPTION. The housing becomes self-sufficient, providing food for its occupants and their neighbors. Unit costs decrease with multiplication due to the reuse of rammed-earth molds and other construction element forms.
The project is patented by INPI and registered with the CAU-SP for copyright.
EcoPoints and decentralized EcoFactories completely recycle all local waste (using Zero Waste technology, similar to that of Sweden) for application in Brazilian construction technology (Sustainable Architecture). Processing this waste produces Renewable Energies (gas, electricity, fuel), creating truly Green Sustainable Neighborhoods and Cities. Localized composting systems transform organic waste into gas, which returns to homes to power showers and stoves at lower costs.
These construction and maintenance processes directly promote new, profitable creativity for communities, such as Pragmatic, Cyclical, Continuous Bioeconomy.
The final step is the certification of these products with the Generic Green Seal, ensuring the continuity of the process and greater credibility for each new Sustainable Green Municipality.
Opportunities for Innovation at Home!
The entire concept developed here aligns with the notion of systemic health in housing, akin to a stem cell. Construction using natural materials, such as raw earth, creates a phenomenological synergy of great importance for all residents and families, including newborns. Earth shares a significant connection with the human body; it is the most abundant material in nature, highly tactile, and inert, covering the ground we walk on. Rammed raw earth walls are exceptionally clean, preventing the adhesion of harmful substances while providing perfect thermal and acoustic comfort.
The house is cool, fragrant, and even flavorful. The organic roof follows the rhythm of the seasons, with fruits growing according to natural climate cycles. The seeds and cultivation of plants become a nurturing experience, especially impactful for young children (ages 0-6), emphasizing nutrition as the first step toward a healthy, mindful life. This early-life intervention serves as a healthy foundational seed, creating a lasting cognitive and physical impact on a child's development. This simple yet powerful experiment, when widely implemented, yields extraordinary results.
To make this a reality, we introduced the playful concept of “My Home, Our Food”—a living skin made of recycled plastic meshes that covers all surfaces, supporting an organic food system. This approach enhances beauty and productivity, ensures shading, and maximizes the reuse of secondary water (like rainwater). It is both a protection and a tool for children to interact with nature's systems—health, joy, and tranquility—vital elements for a thriving life. Collecting and reusing waste becomes a valuable lesson for children, demonstrating positive transformation in a LER system (Clean + Educate = Rebuild), leading to the TER system (Work + Employment = Income).
Educational Integration
When miniaturized (larger than a Lego toy but smaller than an adult house), this concept can be brought to schools, allowing children to understand and interact with organic roof systems and cultivation firsthand. Here lies the opportunity for collaboration with the Meu Oceano Institute, establishing mobile EcoFactory units stationed at schools to train students in waste repurposing—part of a Commitment Expedition in partnership with the UN.
Summary
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Organic waste can be transformed into gas and energy for homes.
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Mineral and plastic waste can be repurposed into modular building elements, similar to Lego, with a Playful Instruction Manual for creation and execution.
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Locally cultivated organic species provide nutritious and healthy food, fostering constant learning and rewarding exchanges within the community.
The house becomes a guaranteed source of productivity and can be certified with a Green Seal, making it a prototype for Green Sustainable Neighborhoods that can be replicated in all municipalities. At the same time, it subliminally and visually teaches tactile and sensitive education, fostering creative action for life and paving the way for a New Age of Earth!