Sustainably sourced timber tower to be built in Brazil
A tower built of sustainably harvested Brazilian wood has been designed by Triptyque Architecture for Amata, a Brazilian forest management company. The environmentally responsible building is intended for multi-purpose use, such as co-working, co-living and restaurant dining. With deforestation and illegal logging a big issue in Brazil, Amata CEO Dario Guarita Neto commented: “Wooden framed buildings are an efficient solution and may serve as a boost toward a change in the environmental consciousness of our societies.”

Brazil is often in Treehugger because of illegal logging and deforestation. Not this time.

We have shown a lot of wood buildings on TreeHugger, but this is the first design we have seen for tall wood in Brazil. It is designed by Triptyque architecture for Amata, a forest management company. Designboom writes that "the 13-storey building allows for many different functional uses, such as co-working, co-living, and restaurant dining. Both communal and private spaces interact with the city where one can live in tune with a new environmental consciousness."

© Triptyque architecture via DesignboomThere is a lot of illegal logging in Brazil, and deforestation is a huge issue, so there was a twinge of nervousness writing about this building; but Dario Guarita Neto, cofounder and CEO at Amata, tells Designboom:

Wooden framed buildings are an efficient solution and may serve as a boost toward a change in the environmental consciousness of our societies. As we replace non-renewable resources with natural raw materials, we also help create a cleaner chain of production and we add value to certified forests. This can lower the pressure for deforestation.

© Amata forest management

On their website, they make a very big deal about their purpose and their practices: "AMATA is a company that serves as a bridge between the forest and the consumer market, offering certified wood that is produced with social responsibility and guaranteed origin." They grow pine and eucalyptus and go "beyond compliance with environmental standards."

© Triptyque architecture via Designboom

And that's why it's in TreeHugger -- because every cubic meter of wood that they grow absorbs a metric tonne of CO2. That's why we love wood, even from Brazil. It's part of the solution, not the problem.

© Amata Manifesto