CanyaViva´s method of construction began with the observation of cane in its natural state and the spaces created by its growth over a small river in the south of Spain. This naturally occurring environment gave the impulse to explore, touch, weave and tie the cane, preserving its form but giving it the structure necessary to resist the weight of various people at a time, whilst creating fluid, organic and surprisingly strong architectural spaces.

Through the immediate contact with this unique plant, and over the following years of experimentation and investigation, the steps and parameters that now define CanyaViva’s specific construction technique were identified and continually refined until it became what we now consider to be the optimum use of the material for constructing flexible and organic, but also resistant and stable structures, capable of withstanding strong winds, floods and even earthquakes.

Giving the upmost priority to respecting the nature CanyaViva sets an example to all building methods. We aspire to eradicate contamination created by construction, making use of only the most abundant of the world’s resources without consuming combustible energy in their transformation, and thus resulting in a construction that produces 0 emissions.

We aim to amplify as much as possible the use of these truly abundant and renewable materials whilst assisting nature as we do so. Cane can be harvested, for its use as a structural material, from the same crop every two years, and bamboo every year after the first five years of a crops life, making them two of the most sustainable structural materials in the world. Harvesting cane and bamboo crops helps to prevent fires and flooding, as well as stimulating its growth, favouring the fixation of large quantities of CO₂, and improving the quality of the material year after year.

We believe in living in close contact with nature, in which through working with materials that come directly from it we begin to understand its forces, observing how life’s rhythms and cycles marked by the seasons, the moon, the rain (to name just a few), all influence both plants as well as ourselves.

Whilst working with cane and bamboo, through our direct contact with the material, we stimulate our instinctive ability to learn, understanding the material through our own experience with it.

We also consider that auto-construction will play a vital role in facing our current economic as well as climatic crises. We understand auto-construction to be motivated by the necessity of each of us to live in healthy spaces, and aided not only by our inner desire and ability to construct them, but by the energy created when people come together with a common goal.

As a result of this we often consider many of our projects as social encounters, workshops, investigations, and as opportunities for continual development through the exchange of knowledge. We also believe that the potential of any project can be found not only in its economic resources, but more importantly in the will, attitude and union of the people involved.

CanyaViva is currently a family wanting to extend itself. We believe our evolutionary path is through the spreading of knowledge as well as the integration with other complementary holistic approaches such as permaculture, in order to arrive at a truly sustainable system.