Land Cork, structures for ecotourism

Land Cork was develop as an answer to a contest of ideas for new concepts for beach support facilities. It developed itself as a concept to become an "ecomodular, versatile and sustainable structure aimed to ecotourism". Land Cork can have multiple applications: restaurants, coffee shops, accomodation, information stations and variable supporting facilities. It can be implemented on environments like beaches, mountains and natural parks. It is made 90% from wood and cork, with an area of 36 square meters for each module. Its composition and the solutions installed guarantee the thermal and acoustic efficiency and the energetic autonomy - the structure seize power from both solar and wind energy and reuses the raining water.

This project was developed by four Portuguese architects: Ricardo Paulino, Fábio Neves, Ivone Gonçalves and Luís Ricardo. This group of architects form ForStudio Architects. This team is now developing the Business Plan for this project.

Land Cork in one of the multiple projects that illustrate that architects can apply their knowledge to other areas than project drawing. "At this stage, we have to search, as designers, for solutions that are missing. We can not sit around waiting to know what is missing", says Ricardo Paulino, one of the authors.