CASACOR Bahia 2026 debuts carbon neutral project and the show's first ESG report traduzido por: OPENROUTER

The 32nd edition of CASACOR Bahia, on show until September 6 at Casa Nossa Senhora das Mercês, in Salvador, marks a turning point in the show's relationship with sustainability. For the first time in its history, the event is conducting an emissions inventory based on the GHG Protocol methodology and preparing an ESG report, the result of a partnership with The Planet, a climate governance consultancy founded by Gilda Gomes, Climate Leader by The Climate Reality Project.

The partnership also gave rise to the Architects' Manual, a guide with reflections on the role of architecture in the face of the climate emergency, the edition's ESG Governance Manual, and the Greenhouse Gas Inventory of the show's masterplan, in addition to training initiatives aimed at architects, suppliers, and teams. "Sustainability in this edition has ceased to be a one-off gesture and has become a management commitment. For the first time we will measure the show's emissions and publish an ESG report, and this changes the conversation with architects, suppliers, and sponsors. Visitors perceive the result in the projects, but the transformation begins behind the scenes," says Magali Sant'Ana, director of CASACOR Bahia.

The first carbon neutral project

Andrade Schimmelpfeng Arquitetura - Dois Jeitos, Um Querer. Projeto da CASACOR Bahia 2026. (Denilson Machado, do MCA Estúdio/CASACOR)

The most visible face of this agenda is the Living Dois Jeitos, Um Querer, by the Andrade Schimmelpfeng firm — the first carbon neutral project in the history of CASACOR Bahia. Neutrality was achieved with Carbon Track M2, an exclusive technology developed by the firm in partnership with The Planet, capable of measuring the project's emissions and guiding compensation through the acquisition of carbon credits. The project also incorporates practices aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Andrade Schimmelpfeng Arquitetura - Dois Jeitos, Um Querer. Projeto da CASACOR Bahia 2026. (Denilson Machado, do MCA Estúdio/CASACOR)

The choices are concrete and visible to the visitor: the main door, developed with Plasticaria from post-consumer recycled plastic; the green countertop, created exclusively for the space with cement and reused materials, such as fragments of glass bottles, blocks, and marble waste; and the partition wall, clad by Castelatto with aggregates of ground sanitary ware incorporated into the concrete. The guardrail and shelves came from reused metal scrap, the deck is made of reforestation pine, and the thousand-spoon fountain operates with water from the air conditioning condensation, reserved and reused both in the fountain and in plant irrigation.

An app monitors in real time the project's main sustainability indicators throughout the show: volume of reused water, energy savings, emission reductions provided by the materials, and the work's carbon footprint — consistent with the trajectory of the firm, certified as a B Corp, an international seal granted to organizations that prove through auditing high standards of socio-environmental performance, transparency, and responsibility.

Waste with signature design

Studio Cady Arquitetura e Interiores - Abraço, para Manolo Wellness. Projeto da CASACOR Bahia 2026. (Gabriel Matos/CASACOR)

The edition helps to undo a persistent stereotype: that recycled or reused material results in poor aesthetics, associated with improvisation. Plasticaria, which produces panels from post-consumer plastic, signs pieces in different spaces. In Abraço, by Studio Cady for Manolo Wellness, the tabletops are made of the company's recyclable material, which also produced a side table with signature design by architect Felipe Cady.

Nath Veloso Arquitetura - Loft a Rotina do Agora. Projeto da CASACOR Bahia 2026. (Denilson Machado, do MCA Estúdio/CASACOR)

In the loft A Rotina do Agora, by Nath Veloso, a piece of furniture was produced with 30 kilos of recycled plastic sheets — the equivalent of the PP+ indicator for six months, a Positive Plastic Weight measure adopted by the company and based on research by Blue Keepers, according to which each person generates around 64 kilos of plastic per year, of which approximately 16 kilos end up in the oceans.

Hugo Ribeiro - Cozinha e Jantar. Projeto da CASACOR Bahia 2026. (Denilson Machado, do MCA Estúdio/CASACOR)

In Cozinha e Jantar, by Hugo Ribeiro, the pendant lamp above the dining table was exclusively developed for the projects in partnership with Studio L, using leather scraps repurposed from production processes. In these projects, discarded material appears incorporated with finish and intention, side by side with fine woods, marbles, and signature furniture — proof that sophistication and environmental responsibility are no longer opposing choices.

From signage to the ecodesign contest

The commitment extends to the operation of the exhibition. All signage in this edition was produced with Ecobord, a fully recyclable cardboard material printed with water-based ink, brought by Blue Artes, a signage company from Salvador that holds the rights to the material in Bahia. Ecobord had already been used this year in the signage of Salone del Mobile, in Milan, the main design event in the world.

The exhibition also hosts the Plasticaria Circular Ecodesign Award 2026, promoted by Plasticaria in partnership with CASACOR Bahia and the Salvador Secretariat of Sustainability, Resilience and Animal Well-Being and Protection (SECIS), with institutional support from organizations such as the Embassy of France in Brazil and the UNESCO chair for sustainability at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. The award invites architects, students, designers, and creatives in general — even without experience — to develop authorial projects that transform recycled plastic into architecture, design, and innovation, with categories based on concrete volumes of waste, such as a soap dish made with one month of plastic waste or a stool made with the equivalent of one year; one of them is exclusive to the CASACOR Bahia roster of architects. The winners will be announced on August 31, alongside the exhibition's awards ceremony, and the prototypes will be on public display during the last week of the event.

Art that is born from discard

Gabriel Magalhães - Águias Que Acalmam - Deca. Projeto da CASACOR Bahia 2026. (Denilson Machado, do MCA Estúdio/CASACOR)

The theme also runs through the exhibited works. In Águas que Acalmam, projects by Gabriel Magalhães, artist Mateus Morbeck presents Meia Água, a series of monotypes created by immersing watercolor paper in the stains from the oil spill that hit the sea of the Brazilian Northeast — a manifesto that turns the trace of an environmental disaster into a work of art, with reliefs formed by the accumulated oil and marks left the moment each paper was removed from the water.

Sílvia Lectícia e Tays Mota | Sense2 Arquitetura - Adega Latência. Projeto da CASACOR Bahia 2026. (Camila Santos/CASACOR)

In Adega Latência, by Sense2 Arquitetura, by Tays Mota and Sílvia Lectícia, the works Entre Veias e Taninos, by Syene Brito, and Entre Safras, by Roberta Tagliapietra, use fiber sourced from recycled tires. The space also houses the sculpture Coração, by Juliana Maria for Rizoma, produced from a discarded iron trash can, and an interactive installation at the exit where visitors sign the experience by depositing used wine corks into a container.

Neto Cunha Arquitetura - Loft Desígnio. Projeto da CASACOR Bahia 2026. (Bia Nauiack/CASACOR)

In the Loft Desígnio, by Neto Cunha, the sculpture O Propósito, tensioned with steel cables above the bed, was produced in ecoboard — a 100% recycled and recyclable material, with 247 layers interconnected by hotmelt glue, modeled on a 3D printer and executed by Blue Arts.

The trophies of the edition follow the same path: signed by the visual artist and designer Luciana Bittencourt, they were developed from roots collected in Chapada Diamantina, many originating from areas affected by fires or deforestation — fragments that could represent destruction and gain, in the exhibition, a new existence through art.

traduzido por: OPENROUTER