Building with Local Materials: Why Place Matters Before Design
By Reyna Oleas & Roberto Plaza — Biologists and Co-founders of Montemar
Why Materials Are Never Neutral in the Galápagos
In most construction projects, materials are chosen based on availability, price, or aesthetics. They arrive by truck, ship, or container, and once they are on site, their origin quickly fades from the conversation.
In the Galápagos, that logic breaks down.
Here, materials are never neutral. Every imported item carries weight—environmental, biological, and logistical. Building with local materials at Montemar was not a stylistic decision. It was a response to living and building in one of the most isolated and fragile ecosystems on Earth.
Islands Amplify Consequences
Islands are disproportionately affected by global flows of materials. According to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), islands account for less than 5% of the world’s land area, yet host over 40% of globally threatened species, largely due to habitat loss and invasive species introduced through human activity.
On islands, importing construction materials is not just an economic decision—it is an ecological one.
Every shipment arriving in the Galápagos carries more than goods. It also carries risk. Cargo movement is one of the primary pathways for the introduction of invasive species— insects, seeds, fungi, and microorganisms that can permanently alter island ecosystems. Global assessments show that over 60% of invasive species introductions are linked directly or indirectly to international trade and cargo transport, with islands among the most vulnerable systems.
For an archipelago whose biodiversity evolved in isolation, this risk is not theoretical. It is one of the central threats to ecological balance.
Reducing imports, whenever possible, is therefore not just about carbon footprint. It is about biosecurity.
Choosing Materials That Belong to the Landscape
At Montemar, this translated into working primarily with three local materials: lava stone, bamboo, and cedrela wood.
Cedrela is a tree species introduced to the islands by humans decades ago. Over time, it became invasive and is now considered an ecological problem. Using cedrela as a construction material allowed us to transform an environmental challenge into part of the solution—reducing pressure on native species while giving value to a material already present in the ecosystem.
Approximately 70% of Montemar’s construction volume is made from local materials. The remaining 30% corresponds to elements that cannot be replaced in an island context—bathrooms, glass, plumbing systems, and electrical wiring.
This balance reflects a deliberate effort: to localize as much as possible without compromising safety, functionality, or durability.
Questioning Assumptions: Learning to Build with Bamboo
Bamboo deserves its own story.
When we first proposed using bamboo, almost everyone told us the same thing: the bamboo species found in the Galápagos was not suitable for construction. Repeated often enough, this belief had become an unquestioned truth.
We decided to test it.
Samples of local bamboo were sent to a university laboratory in Quito for structural testing. The results were clear: it was suitable for construction.
That confirmation changed everything.
However, there was no ready-to-use bamboo on the islands. If we wanted to build with it, we had to learn how to do it ourselves—how to select it, cut it, treat it, and prepare it properly. This required research, experimentation, and time.
Bamboo stopped being an idea and became a relationship.
Less Transport, Fewer Layers of Impact
The construction sector is one of the most carbon-intensive industries globally. The World Green Building Council estimates that building materials and construction account for approximately 11% of global CO₂ emissions, largely due to extraction, processing, and transport.
In island contexts, transport emissions are amplified. Materials must travel long distances by sea, often involving multiple handling stages.
Every imported material in the Galápagos follows a long route: mainland sourcing, packaging, shipping, port handling, inspection, and inland transport. Each step multiplies impact—fuel consumption, emissions, waste, and risk.
By prioritizing local materials, we significantly reduced:
- long-distance transport
- packaging waste
- handling and storage requirements
- dependence on external supply chains
This approach also increased resilience. Local sourcing keeps decisions closer to the ground.
Supporting Local Knowledge and Local Economies
Local sourcing also generates social impact. Studies by the World Bank show that locally anchored supply chains retain a significantly higher proportion of economic value within communities than projects dependent on imported materials and external contractors.
Using local materials is inseparable from working with local people.
Craftspeople and suppliers carry practical knowledge about how materials behave in this climate—knowledge that does not exist in catalogs or technical manuals.
By choosing local materials, we also chose to:
- support local livelihoods
- strengthen local supply networks
- keep economic value circulating within the community
Sustainability is environmental, social, and economic.
Durability Over Perfection
Local materials are not always uniform or polished. They carry irregularities, textures, and marks of origin.
Instead of seeing this as a limitation, we embraced it as durability. Materials that age with the landscape do not require constant replacement. They weather, adapt, and integrate.
This reduces long-term maintenance, replacement cycles, and resource consumption—benefits often invisible at the start of a project but decisive over time.
Building as an Act of Restraint
Perhaps the most important lesson was this: building responsibly in the Galápagos is as much about what you choose not to bring as what you decide to use.
Working with local materials required restraint—accepting limits, adapting design, and allowing the place to lead.
That restraint is not a compromise. It is a form of respect.
A Foundation for Everything Else
The decision to build with local materials set the tone for everything that followed at Montemar—from energy and water systems to waste management and conservation.
It anchored the project in the reality of the island, rather than in an abstract idea of luxury.
In a fragile ecosystem, buildings should not try to stand out. They should belong.
That belief continues to guide how we build, operate, and evolve.
Sources
- Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Island Biodiversity Programme.
- Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Invasive Alien Species Assessment.
- World Green Building Council. Bringing Embodied Carbon Upfront.
- World Bank. Local economic development and supply chains.
Statistics cited are global estimates; impacts are often magnified in island and remote territories such as the Galápagos.
