Traditional wooden buildings in Portugal: the Avieira house

Abstract

The presence of wood in structural applications in construction was constant in Portugal until the end of the XIXth and early XXth centuries. Wood was used since the first constructions when the available resources were scarce and it continues to be present in vernacular buildings and areas whose heritage value requires their preservation. The wood as a structural material is now uncommon in residential buildings in Portugal. It often appears as partial constructive element (particularly in roof structures and floors) and occasionally as integral constructive element. In the latter case, on the vast majority of situations, it appears as a culturally decontextualized constructive system since it lost any connection with traditional solutions using wood.