Something unique is happening in Costa Teguise, and you can’t miss it. On Calle El Timple, the first complex of Cross Laminated Timber homes on the Canaries is being constructed. We took a closer look.
The first thing you notice is the colour – the warm pale tan tones of real timber grown on sustainable Austrian spruce plantations. It’s a welcome contrast to the usual bare, grey concrete breeze-blocks that almost all homes on Lanzarote are constructed of.
These are the Villas Dolce Vita, a new complex that uses XLAM or CLT (Cross Laminated Timber) technology to create unique and incredibly live-able homes. Gualtiero Bracci explains that these buildings are designed in Italy, where their lightness and flexibility has made them ideal for earthquake zones, and the kits have been shipped to Lanzarote and assembled by trained experts.
As you enter, the second thing you notice is the wonderful fragrance of freshly-sawn wood. Then you realise how even the temperature is, and how there is no noise from the workmen outside. That’s because the walls are insulated with 10 cms of timber, as well as rock-wool and 5 cms of plasterboard. The resulting walls are 21 cms thick and provide twice the insulation of a normal brick wall.
XLAM is wood for construction, made of panels of wood pressed and glued in perpendicular arrangement to stop expansion and warping. It’s resistant to fire and the floor of each house is elevated to avoid the timber ever coming into contact with water. On the complex you can see almost every stage in the construction of these fascinating 2- and 3-bedroom homes, each of which is individual, with an unmistakable touch of Italian design.
By the end of the year Villas Dolce Vita will be a complex of 32 homes, divided into eight blocks of four homes each. Four blocks are almost finished, and an impressive show home is already available for viewing. Each house is positioned to provide views of the sea or the volcanoes, and the complex will also have a swimming pool and attractive garden areas.
Last year, Gazette Life covered the news that wooden homes were going to arrive on Lanzarote, and so it’s been a pleasure to follow up on that with a visit to one of the most exciting new construction projects on the island. These pleasant, attractive homes really do feel like a future you want to live in.
