Current relevance of the historic construction technique of Bousillage using Spanish moss, golden broom, and Posidonia oceanica
Submitted: 2025-06-27
|Accepted: 2025-11-04
|Published: 2025-11-21
Copyright (c) 2025 VITRUVIO - International Journal of Architectural Technology and Sustainability
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
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Keywords:
bioinsulation, framework, binder, filler, environment, balance
Supporting agencies:
Programa Propio IDI - Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
Abstract:
Bousillage is a traditional construction technique used to build vertical and horizontal enclosures in tropical, West European, and Mediterranean regions. It uses a timbered structure called colombage and a fibrous filler made from natural waste. This research paper confirms the current practice of this ancient technique by analyzing its structural, hydrothermal and environmental peculiarities through the examination of three persistent solutions that use golden broom, Spanish moss, and Posidonia oceanica as binders. The methodology begins with a theoretical framework that confirms the technique’s historical roots according to context. Then, field and hygrothermal data is collected for each vegetal binder type. The main objective is to test the initial hypothesis that bousillage is a symbiotic construction method which creates a balance between nature and anthropocentrism in the local ecosystem—regardless of the plant waste used or the climatic context in which it is developed. The research results clarify that this environmental balance is achieved when waste discarded by nature is used as an active component in thermal building improvements. This benefits both the fauna and flora species, as well as anthropized neighborhoods. In conclusion, reviving this traditional technique in accordance with the current ecological situation, creates necessary anthroponatural interdependence for the long-term survival of the ecosystem.
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