Considering the current situation of the housing deficit, its continuous geographic variability, and the sustainable exploitation of forests in Latin America, sustainable construction can meet low-cost housing needs through the use of self-built houses, with special reference to wooden houses. Based on Leonardoâs self-supporting bridge, a model of a quality self-built house was developed to highlight some guidelines for simple production assortments, easy transportation, and smooth assembly processes. Environmental sustainability was reinforced by the use of wood from renewable forests as the predominant material and by the extended-life design, which offers the possibility of disassembling and reusing major building components for a portable and âevolvingâ house whose volume expands and shrinks over time according to the needs and financial resources of the people living in it. The deconstructible wood building system can then become an effective response to support social policies that involve local communities in sustainable development and participatory construction as tools for achieving adequate quality housing at affordable financial and environmental costs, promoting a sustainable way of living based on mutualism and cooperation.