Monchique hopes to research the perfect “antifire home” thanks to joint venture with architects

Monchique Council, alongside the Order of Architects, will challenge national professionals to design a fire-resistant home. The idea was brought up this Tuesday, during the signing ceremony of a document between the two institutions, which allows for volunteer architects to prepare projects rebuild houses in the country, following the wildfires in August last year.

Rui André, mayor of Monchique, said that “the municipality, together with the Order, is preparing a public tender to put the creativity of architects to work so that they can create a house that shows how one can live in the territory’s forest and rural areas with comfort and safety”. This proposal pushes for a “creative resilient home”, and "Monchique wants to be a pioneer county in this regard," clarified the mayor.

According to Pedro Hébil, member of the southern section of the Order, such a dwelling "can allow people to protect themselves from the fire, instead of having to leave the house." The initiative, which will be promoted by the Order of Architects, should be ready to launch by the end of the year. The end of the process of rebuilding the houses affected by last year's fire could take longer, although the process is set to be sped up thanks to the contribution of the volunteer architects.

This is “the first time that the Voluntary Emergency Support Architects program created by the Order of Architects in 2017 has been working to help design projects for the rebuilding and upgrading of housing in fire-affected areas”, highlighted Paula Torgal, president of the southern section of the Order. The architects will be available “to help people free of charge in emergencies', and the remuneration of professionals will be analyzed “on a case-by-case basis”, which could cause some issues in the future.

For now, although the agreement has been signed, Rui André made it clear that the support of other roles would also be beneficial, such as the engineers.

For the municipality, this is an important aid "to help rebuild and provide housing with safe and comfortable conditions". The Mayor of Monchique recalls that the process of housing reconstruction “becomes difficult due to the territory and the characteristics of the municipality of Monchique.”

There are currently 15 dwellings "with pending reconstruction" and "six cases where projects are lagging behind and we may have to lead them." The mayor believes that all Volunteer Architect projects will be brought in to action by the end of this year and that by August 2020 all the houses that have been highlighted as being included in the programme will be rebuilt.

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