First Prefabricated House from Certified Wood Launched in Brazil
11/26/98
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Title: First prefabricated house in the world built with
certified wood is launched in Brazil
Source: World Wildlife Fund
Status: Distribute freely with credit given to source
Date: November 26, 1998
Gland, Switzerland - Timber certification worldwide took
a major step forward with the launching, in Brazil, of
the first prefabricated house entirely built with wood
certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
Designed and constructed by Brazilian architect Joao
Bird, the so-called Z House is being displayed as part
of a showroom in the city of Niter›i, on the outskirts
of the city of Rio de Janeiro. WWF supports the
initiative, which is the first step towards a buyers'
movement for certification in Brazil, involving a number
of other companies and institutions.
A total of 8.4 cubic meters of timber are necessary to
build the basic 64 square-meter Z House, with one
bedroom, a living-room, bathroom and kitchen. Up to
three other bedrooms may be added at the customer's
order. The retail price is set at the equivalent of US$
21,200 per house (basic module).
The house is entirely produced with Amazonian hardwood,
including newly commercial species. Production is based
in the city of Itacoatiara, in the Amazon region, and
planned for four houses per month. The project also
includes training of local staff in a carpentry school
already in operation.
Environmental comfort has been taken into account in the
house project, which features parquet floor in the
bedroom, as well as furniture and yard fences also made
of certified wood from other companies. Even the
charcoal for the traditional weekend barbecue is
provided from a certified source.
The city administration of Niter›i has offered the area
for the Z House showroom in exchange for urban equipment
to be made with certified wood remnants, which were
originally developed for the city administration of
Itacoatiara. They are the first Brazilian governmental
bodies to use certified products.
"The Z House event will give local consumers a concrete
idea of what FSC certification means and create a new
interest for certified products among potential wood
users," said Walter Suiter, secretary of the Brazilian
FSC working group and coordinator of the FSC
implantation project for WWF-Brazil
There is a total of 383,000 hectares certified by FSC in
Brazil (one Amazon forest and five plantations) and
dozens of other companies owning forests and plantations
throughout the country are going through the process to
obtain certification.
END
Shots from the world's first ever FSC house in Brazil
Check out the WWF-Brazil site
For more information please contact: Joao Bird (Z
House): +55-21-9975-5450 (cell phone), 55-21-9975-5450
(residence) and (092)521-3850 (office) Walter Suiter
(FSC): tel + 55-61-248-2899 and e-mail walter@wwf.org.br
Regina Vasquez (WWF): tel +55-61-248-2899, fax
+55-61-364-3057, e-mail regina@wwf.org.br To know more
about FSC in Brazil, check the Internet site
http://www.wwf.org.br/fsc (Portuguese only).