{"id":8823,"date":"2026-05-23T10:00:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T10:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/?p=8823"},"modified":"2026-05-29T15:19:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T15:19:51","slug":"atelier-backlar-wraps-portuguese-clifftop-house-in-recycled-ocean-plastic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2026\/05\/23\/atelier-backlar-wraps-portuguese-clifftop-house-in-recycled-ocean-plastic\/","title":{"rendered":"Atelier Backlar wraps Portuguese clifftop house in recycled ocean plastic"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Portuguese architecture studio Atelier Backlar has used recycled ocean plastic<\/a> and locally sourced timber<\/a>\u00a0to create The Blue House within the ruins<\/a> of a former whaler’s tavern on S\u00e3o Miguel Island in the Azores<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Set on a clifftop overlooking the traditional whaling bay of Capelas, Atelier Backlar<\/a> combined old and new elements for the deisgn, with original basalt stone<\/a> walls enclosing a striking blue timber<\/a> structure.<\/p>\n

\"The
Atelier Backlar designed The Blue House within the ruins of a former whaler’s tavern in the Azores<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The studio worked with traditional basalt stone builders from a neighbouring town to carefully preserve the perimeter walls of the former whaler’s tavern, which had been in ruins since the 1980s.<\/p>\n

Within the old stone ruins, the studio constructed the house from prefabricated structural insulated panels (SIPs)<\/a> using timber mostly sourced on the island.<\/p>\n

\"The
The original basalt stone walls were preserved<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“We chose to use a structurally insulated panel (SIP) timber system as we wanted wood to be the primary structural material due to its low embodied carbon and environmental performance,” Atelier Backlar co-founder Jeremy Stewart Backlar told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“The timber panels were prefabricated off-site with a high degree of precision, meaning they could be shipped to the island and assembled in just 10 days,” he explained.<\/p>\n

“Beyond the speed and efficiency of the construction, the timber structure performs particularly well in the Azorean climate and seismic context.”<\/p>\n

\"The
The structure was made from locally sourced wood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The studio covered the facade, roof and external deck with blue cladding made from recycled ocean plastic.<\/p>\n

According to the studio, sourcing recycled plastic at such a vast scale posed a significant challenge, with the recycling facility typically producing elements at the scale of furniture rather than architecture.<\/p>\n