2012_ArchiNews24_PROMONTORIO

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Ano Year VIIAbril/Maio/Junho April/May/June2012Portugal continental 4

ArchiNews 24www.archinews.pt

Arquitectura, Urbanismo,Interiores e Design

Architecture, Urbanism,

Interiors and Design

PROMONTORIOProjectos recentesRecent projects

LAnd HotelMontemor-o-Novo, Portugal

sc e u e or e r e


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Editorial Editorial

Destaques Highlights

Notcias News

Livros Books

Internet Internet

Agenda Agenda

PROMONTORIO

Perl Prole

Entrevista Interview

Fluvirio de Mora Mora River Aquarium

Colgio Parque Parque Kindergarten

pera de Alepo Aleppo Opera House

Vivaci Guarda

bl XI

East Lisbon Loft

Kempinski Damasco Kempinski Damascus

Hotel Tivoli Victoria Banyan Tree Tivoli Victoria Banyan Tree Hotel

Hotel Inspira Santa Marta Inspira Santa Marta Hotel

Troia Design Hotel

Hotel e Parque Urbano Hotel and Urban Park

Hotel LAnd Vineyards LAnd Vineyards Hotel

Praa de Entrecampos Entrecampos SquareCasa Ptio Patio House

Casa da Matriz

Embaixada do Egito em Lisboa Embassy of Egypt in Lisbon

Design de Produto Product Design

Ficha de produtos e servios Products and services

Novidades Novelties

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Grace lls empty spaces, but it

can only enter where there is a void

to receive it. We must continually

suspend the work of the imagination

in lling the void within ourselves.

Simone Weils spiritual call to arms

us that it is this interval between

gravity and grace that commands

our very existence. Architecture

is no exception to this wanderingcondition, as corroborated by the

featured selection of projects from

PROMONTORIO. And while we

could not possibly dismiss them

simply as massive or otherwise free

from gravity, we wil l argue that,

in the projects gathered here, the

tradition of tectonic articulation

between typos and topos, is as much

guaranteed as the owing spatiality

of a free Gestalt.

Some works of PROMONTORIOshow evidence of an intuitive

plastici ty evocative of the tradit ion

of the Neue Sachlichkeit; one

where the wall and the window are

freely arranged according to an

introspective functionality. Deantly

sculptural, I have in mind, for

instances, the Patio House, built in

Grandola, in an oak forest near the

Atlantic coast of the Alentejo. In the

latter, were it not for the sensibilitythat emanates from sheer presence

of material and joint, one could not

but perceive it as the avatar of the

atectonic. Much the same could be

argued about the LAnd Hotel, also

in the Alentejo, where the sensuously

jagged white volume is seemingly

part hovering in the vineyard,

Editorial Editorial

Gerrit Confurius

O Intervalo Tectnico: Notas sobre o PROMONTORIOThe Tectonic Interval: Notes on PROMONTORIO

A Graa preenche os espaosvazios, mas s pode entrar onde hum vazio para a receber. Devemoscontinuamente suspender o trabalhoda imaginao para preencher o vaziodentro de ns mesmos. O reptoespiritual de Simone Weil, recorda-nosque o intervalo entre a gravidade e aleveza continua a comandar a nossa

existncia. Arquitetura no umaexceo a essa condio errante, comocorrobora a seleo dos projetos dosPROMONTORIO aqui apresentados.Sendo que seria redutor simplesmentedescart-los como arquitetura pesadaou leve, argumentaremos que, nos

projetos aqui reunidos, a tradioda articulao tectnica entre typosetopos, est garantida na mesma formaque a espacialidade uida de umaGestalt livre.

Algumas obras dos PROMONTORIOdemonstram evidncia de uma

plasticidade intuitiva evocativa datradio da Neue Sachlichkeit: ondea parede e janela eram livrementedispostas de acordo com umafuncionalidade introspectiva. Estou-mea referir por exemplo Casa Ptio,construda em Grndola, numa orestade sobreiros junto costa atlntica doAlentejo. Aqui, no fora a expresso

emptica que emana das espessasmassas de reboco branco, e diria queestamos perante a absoluta consumaoda denio de atectnico. O mesmo se

pode argumentar sobre o LAnd Hotel,tambm no Alentejo, onde o volume

branco, prismtico e irregular pareceestar simultnea e contraditoriamente a

pairar na vinha e imerso na topograa,

enquanto as janelas horizontaise os ptios murados servem paraemoldurar a paisagem. Aqui, como em

projetos anteriores, testemunhamos anecessidade dos PROMONTORIO emconciliar forma e contexto.

Nada poderia estar mais distantedesta delicada plasticidade, que oconjunto habitacional e de servios da

Praa de Entrecampos, projetada parao centro de Lisboa, entre 2004 e 2011.Aqui, num contexto de transio entrea matriz ortogonal do bairro burgusdo sculo XIX, e sua rarefao numurbanismo tipo Unit, o plano procuracriar grandes blocos perimetrais comintensa porosidade pblica ao nvel dosolo para acesso a escritrios e pequenocomrcio, assim evitando a mono-funcionalidade associada aos grandescomplexos habitacionais. O sistema

de fachada, uma massiva assemblagemde painis de beto pigmentado e

pr-moldado em U, combinadas comcaixilharias de alumnio anodizadodourado, consegue ajustar-se acidentada topograa e aos mltiplosrequisitos funcionais do programa.

No que diz respeito noo dearticulao tectnica, encontramosuma abordagem semelhante na escolainfantil O Parque, projetada para um

bairro auente do concelho de Cascais,na zona metropolitana de Lisboa.O pequeno edifcio de dois pisos

foi gerado a partir de um sistemageomtrico de favos que organicamentese desenvolvem contra os muros limitesdo terreno irregular e inclinado. Ecosdos mtodos pedaggicos nrdicosdo ps-guerra estaro certamente

part encrusted in the topography,

while framed by punched windows

and walled patios. Here, as

in earlier projects, we witness

PROMONTORIOs need to

reconcile form and context.

Nothing could be further from

this delicate plasticity, than the

Entrecampos Housing Estate,

complete to the design of thePortuguese architects between 2004

and 2011, in Lisbon. Here, in a

context split between the bourgeois

19th-century grid-block district

and the rareed sprawl of the

Unit-type, the plan seeks a porous

perimeter block public courtyard

type accessible at ground level for

retail and small services thereby

eschewing the mono-functionality

associated with large housing

estates. The faade, a solid anddurable assemblage of pink and

green pigmented precast U-panels ,

combined with light-gold anodized

aluminium framing, is able to inect

to the topography and articulate

the manifold requisites of the

programme.

In what concerns the notion of

tectonic articulation, a similar

approach can be found in the Parque

kindergarten, commissioned for anafuent quarter of the municipality

of Cascais, outside of Lisbon.

There, the 2-storey honeycomb-

shaped building spreads organically

against the walled boundaries of the

tight and steep plot, while Nordic

inuences of post-war pedagogical

methods are certainly implied in


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the pentagonal classroom modules.

But one is also reminded of the vast

enquiry on the honeycomb and the

organic pattern, from Yona Friedman

and Japanese Metabolists, like

Isosaki and Kurokawa, to Dutch

structuralists, l ike Hertzberger and

Van Eyck. The construction system,

combining concrete slabs cast in-situ

and whitewashed in burnt lime, withportent walls of bond brickwork and

large wood frames painted white,

suggests the kind of expression one

would nd, say, in Arne Jacobsen or

Rudolf Schwarz.

Much of this heavyweight

tectonic approach can be equally

found in the Victoria hotel, but

here monumentality has taken

place in a manner that recalls

the somewhat illusory image of

magnicence forged under the1930s Italian stile Littorio, or its

Portuguese counterpart Pardal

Monteiro, of which the architects

of PROMONTORIO are openly

admirers. There, the severe

repetition of the Schinkelesque post-

and-lintel facade module, echoing

the dichotomy between Kernform and

Kunstform, between cladding and

structure, astonishingly dissolves the

colossal mass of the ensemble intothe romantic splendour of a Grand

Hotel. Combined with the white

precast lintels, the superimposed

stereotomics of thick yellow sandstone

cladding, reminiscent of some

mutated form of opus siliceum, are

exemplary of the recurrent concerns

of PROMONTORIO.

implcitosnos mdulos pentagonaisdas salas de aula. Mas evocatambm a vasta investigao emtorno das estruturas em favos e dosseus desenvolvimentos orgnicos, deYona Friedman e dos metabolistas

japoneses, como Isosaki e Kurokawa,aos estruturalistas holandeses, comoHertzberger e Van Eyck. O sistema

de construo, combinando lajes debeto moldadas in-situcom paredes dealvenaria de tijolo vista caiados, emconjunto com grandes caixilharias demadeira pintada de branco, sugere otipo de expresso que se pode encontrar,

por exemplo, em obras de ArneJacobsen ou de Rudolf Schwarz.

Essa abordagem tectnica pesadaest igualmente presente no hotelVictoria, mas aqui monumentalidadeocorre numa forma que lembra

um pouco a ilusria imagem demagnicncia forjada em Itlia nadcada de 30 sob os auspcios dochamadostileLittorio, ou do seuequivalente em Portugal pela mo dePardal Monteiro, um autor do qualos PROMOTORIO so admiradoresconfessos. Nele, a rigorosa repetiodo Schinkelesco mdulo de fachadade pilastra-e-lintel, evocativo dadicotomia entre Kernform e Kunstform,

entre revestimento e estrutura,surpreendentemente dissolve a colossalmassa deste conjunto no esplendorromntico de um Grand Hotel. Acombinao de lintis pr-moldados em

beto branco subliminarmente apoiadosem robustas pilastras revestidas a umespesso arenito amarelo, como quereminiscente de um opus siliceum,

I also have in mind earlier projects,

such as the Tejo towers of 2001,

Bloco Carnide of 2003, both in

Lisbon, or even the remote Lubango

centre, currently under construction

in the African hinterland. In all

these cases, the stereotomic makes

itself manifest by a consistent

and continuous articulation of the

cladding units in a way that alludesto a hypothetical transfer of loads in

the facade.

The presence of Mies is still far

from losing i ts aura when i t comes to

dealing with the expressive potential

of the glassed faade, having in

mind his undulating glass skyscraper

designed for Friedrichstrasse,

Berlin, in 1922. That is certainly the

reference for the Troia Design Hotel,

of 2009, where a glassed system of

balcony bulkheads cleverly swingsin mismatched oors to generate the

kind of rapture usually associated

with casino hotels.

While PROMONTORIOs

underlying approach to tectonics

has been systematically focused on

the problems of assemblage and its

mechanical engagement, recent years

witnessed its reication in a kind of

posie dquipage that seemingly

attempt to pick up where Ponti andMller left. I have in mind the

countless objects and furniture pieces

designed not only as stand-alone

products, but also those built-

in for specic interiors. Always

somewhat wit ty, and denitively

more Gemtlich than Sachlich, these

objects seem to reconcile comfort

so exemplares das preocupaesatuais dos PROMONTORIO. Recordo

projetos anteriores, como as Torres doTejo de 2001 e Bloco Carnide de 2003,ambos em Lisboa, ou mesmo o remotoCentro Lubango, em construo nohinterlandangolano. Em todos estescasos, a tectnica manifesta-se pelaconsistente e contnua articulao dos

mdulos estruturais de uma forma quealude hipottica transferncia decargas nas fachadas.

A presena de Mies est ainda longede perder a sua aura quando se tratade lidar com o potencial expressivo dafachada em vidro curvo, canonizado naondulante planta do seu arranha-cu

proposto para Friedrichstrasse, emBerlim, em 1922. certamente essaa referncia subjacente ao projetodo Troia Design Hotel, de 2009, onde

um sistema de amplas varandas comguardas em vidro curvo e balanosdesencontrados entre pisos pretendegerar o xtase tipicamente associadoaos hotis-casino.

Enquanto abordagem dosPROMONTORIO s questesda tectnica parece ter sidosistematicamente marcada pelasquestes da assemblagem e do engenhomecnico que lhe est associado,

os ltimos anos testemunham a suareicao numa espcie deposiedequipageque aparentemente tenta

pegar onde Ponti e Mller deixaram.Tenho em mente no apenas osinmeros objetos e peas de mobilirio

projetados como peas autnomas,mas tambm aqueles concebidos parainteriores especcos.

Editorial Editorial


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Director DirectorCarlos Alho

Director editorial Editor-in-chiefJoo Carlos Fonseca

Conselho editorial Editorial boardArquitetura ArchitectureAntnio Pereira da Silva, Antnio Reis CabritaArquitetura paisagista Landscape architectureConstana VasconcelosCrtica CriticismVasco Pinheiro,Pedro CorreiaEngenharia EngineeringTeixeira TrigoUrbanismo UrbanismJoo Guterres,Manuel Fernandes de S,Rui EstevesReabilitao urbana Urban rehabilitaion

Eunice Salavessa, Jos Trindade ChagasDesign DesignJorge Carvalho, Antnio SeguradoArte ArtAntnio Branquinho Pequeno, Cristina Atade, Soa guas

Equipa de redaco Editorial staffCarlos dos Santos, Rui Solano dAlmeida

Arte/Design Art/DesignPaula Azevedo, PROMONTORIO

FotograaPhotographyFg+Sg - Fotograa de Arquitetura, Jos Campos, Telmo Miller

Secretariado AdministrativeAlexandra Mendes da Fonseca

Fotograa da Capa Cover PhotographFg+Sg - Fotograa de ArquiteturaLAnd Hotel, Montemor-o-Novo

Colaboradores desta edio Colaborators in this editionCarlos Sardo, Marisa Rosrio, PROMONTORIO

Correspondentes CorrespondentsAlex Mccuaig, Peter Barret, Steve Curwell (Inglaterra),Antonino Marguccio, Daniela Ermano, Lucio Magri (Itlia)

Traduo TranslationIns Martins

Reviso RevisionMaria Joo Mendes

Directora de Comunicao Communication DirectorMnica Fonseca

Marketing e Publicidade Marketing andAdvertisingJoo Santos, Soa Filipe

Editora PublisherInsidecity, Lda.R. Maestro Antnio Taborda, 28 R/C, 1200-716 LisboaT (+351) 213 930 176 F (+351) 213 930 178E [email protected], [email protected]

Impresso PrintingTEXTYPE - Artes Grcas, Lda.Estrada de Benca, 212-A, 1500-094 Lisboa

Distribuio DestributionVasp

ISSN: 1646-2262Registo no I.C.S. N. 124.476N. Depsito Legal:223042/5

Tiragem Print run10.000 ex.

Interdita a reproduo de textos e imagens por quaisquer meiosReproduction of images or texts by whichever means is strictly forbiden.

Crditos Credits

CrditosCredits

and elegance in similar terms to

those one encounters in the stirrings

of Scandinavian design.

In a world that is increasingly

dominated by the spectacular,

vis--vis the indifference, if not

disdain, for the physical and

historical continuity of the civic

form, it is a note of sobriety to

nd a contemporary practice likePROMONTORIO setting itself

out to produce an architecture

that is overtly open to the creation

of context and the formation of

community. Their work returns us

to Venturis seminal Complexity and

Contradiction, who in the spirit of

Alberti reminds us that, architects

should be experts in the exist ing

conventions, in that they select us

much as they create. In this sense,

PROMONTORIOs mtier is fair lyclose the stirrings of the Portuguese

master Fernando Tvora, whose

ability to reconcile the complexity

of programme with the problems of

language, left him just as open to

formal contingency as uneasy with

reductive radicalism.

Gerrit Confuriuswas born in Lbeck in 1946.

He studied German linguistics , sociology and history

of art in Hamburg, Vienna and Munich (Dr.Phil).

He lectured and worked as a freelance journali st

for various journals and publications on art andarchitecture, serving as editor of Bauwelt between 1992

and 1999.

In that same year, he was appointed editor-in-chi ef

of Daidalos, a critical journal of architecture, art

and culture, also based in Berlin.

Currently, he writes crime novels and other ction.

Sempre um pouco irnicos, edenitivamente mais Gemtlich queSachlich, esses objetos parecemconciliar o conforto e a elegnciaem termos semelhantes aos queencontramos na tradio do designescandinavo.

Num mundo cada vez mais dominadopelo espetacular,vis--viso desprezo

e indiferena pela continuidadefsica e histrica da forma cvica, deuma sobriedade exemplar encontraruma prtica prossional que conseguesair fora do seu elemento para criaruma arquitetura que declaradamenteaberta criao de contexto e formao de comunidade. O trabalhodo PROMONTORIO remete-nos denovo para a seminal Complexidade eContradio de Venturi, que ao espritode Alberti nos recorda que ...os

arquitetos deveriam ser especialistasnas convenes existentes, no sentidoem que, o que selecionam, muitomais do que o que criam. Nessesentido, o mtier dos PROMONTORIO razoavelmente prximo das demandasdo mestre portugus FernandoTvora, cuja capacidade de conciliara complexidade do programa com os

problemas de linguagem, o deixousempre to aberto contingncia

formal, como inquieto com os aspectosredutores dos radicalismos.

Gerrit Confuriusnasceu em Lbeck, em 1946.Estudou lingustica alem, sociologia e histria da arteem Hamburgo, Viena e Munique (Dr.Phil).Lecionou e trabalhou comofreelancerpara vrios jornaise publicaes sobre arte e arquitetura, servindo como editorde Bauwelt entre 1992 e 1999. Nesse mesmo ano,foi nomeado diretor da Daidalos, uma revista de arquitetura,arte e cultura, tambm sediada em Berlim.Atualmente, escreve co e romances policiais.

Editorial Editorial


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PROMONTORIO

PROMONTORIO

Paulo Martins Barata

Joo Lus Ferreira

Paulo Perloiro

Joo Perloiro

Pedro Appleton

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PROMONTORIO

PROMONTORIO: PerfilPROMONTORIO: Profile

Lead by Paulo Martins Barata, Joao Lus

Ferreira, Paulo Perloiro, Pedro Appleton and Joao

Perloiro, PROMONTORIO began in Lisbon in

1990 as an experimental studio and consistently

grew into a multidisciplinary practice of architects,

planners, landscape architects, interior designers

and graphic designers.

Underlying its approach to the urban form, the

work of PROMONTORIO has often been identied

with the pursuit of a system of robustness (i.e.

solidity, stability and durability) both in terms of

representational meaning and technical research.

This cohesive and interactive structure has

enabled PROMONTORIO to deal with large and

complex projects both in terms of design and

programme, ranging from schools, museums and

cultural institutions, to housing, ofces, hotels

and retail and mixed-use. PROMONTORIO has

accomplished projects in Algeria, Angola, Brazil,

Bulgaria, Cape Verde, China, Dubai, Egypt,

Germany, Hungary, Italy, Georgia, Mozambique,

Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Serbia, Syria, Spain,

Switzerland, Turkey and Vietnam, having

established partnerships in many of these.

Fundado por Paulo Martins Barata, Joo Lus

Ferreira, Paulo Perloiro, Pedro Appleton e Joo

Perloiro, o PROMONTORIO teve incio em Lisboa,

em 1990, como estdio experimental e evoluiu

consistentemente para uma equipa multidisciplinar

de arquitetos, paisagistas, designers de interiores e

designers grcos.

A abordagem do PROMONTORIO formaurbana tem sido consistentemente identicada

com a procura de um sistema de robustez (solidez,

estabilidade e durabilidade), quer em termos de

signicado representacional, quer em termos de

pesquisa e inovao, e implementada em obras de

grande dimenso e complexidade.

Desde o incio, a equipa funciona numa estrutura

coesa, orientada para o desenvolvimento de

projetos de grande escala urbana, incluindo

escolas, museus e edifcios institucionais,

habitao, escritrios, hotis e outros programas

mistos. O PROMONTORIO tem desenvolvido

projetos para Alemanha, Arglia, Angola, Brasil,

Bulgria, Cabo Verde, China, Dubai, Egito,

Hungria, Itlia, Gergia, Moambique, Portugal,

Qatar, Romnia, Srvia, Sria, Espanha, Sua,

Turquia e Vietname, tendo estabelecido parceriasem muitos destes pases.

A abordagemdo PROMONTORIO forma urbana temsido consistentementeidentificada coma procura de umsistema de robustez(solidez, estabilidadee durabilidade)

Underlying its approachto the urban form, the

work of PROMONTORIOhas often been identifiedwith the pursuit ofa system of robustness(i.e. solidity, stabilityand durability)

PROMONTORIO LisboaLisbon


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PROMONTORIO

Principais obras Main Projects (built)

LAnd Vineyards, Masterplan and key buildings,Montemor-o-novo, 2010-2011

Tivoli Victoria Hotel, Vilamoura, Algarve, 2004-2009Vivaci Shopping Centre, Guarda, 2006-2009

Praca de Entrecampos, Lisbon, 2006-2009

Troia Design Hotel, 2006-2009Dolce Vita Shopping Centre, Ovar, 2003-2007Mora River Aquarium, Mora, Alentejo, 2005-2006Oriente Complex, Expo98, Lisbon, 1998-2002Telheiras Housing, 1994-1997

Rank Xerox Portugal, Lisbon, 1992-1996Lisbon Book fair Pavilion, Ministry of Culture, 1990

Publicaes (Seleo) Publications (Selection)

A10, Area, Architectural Review, Architecti,Arqa, Arquitectura Viva, A+T, AV, c3, Detail,2G, Domus, Expresso, Prototypo, Pblico, JA,LArchitecture dAujourdhui, Lotus International,Techniques & Architecture, The Plan.

Livros Books

Architecture for Tourism, Lisbon; 2010.Retail by Design Specialists, Lisbon; 2010.Telheiras Housing, White & Blue, Lisbon; 2003.

Bloco Carnide, Asa, Porto; 2002.Xerox, Prototypo Books, Lisbon; 2002.

Exposies (Seleo) Exhibitions (Selection)

Collectif, nouvelles formes dhabitat collectif en

Europe, Arc-en-Rve, Bordeaux, France, 2009Portugiesische Architektur im Ausland, Aedes

Gallery, Berlin, Germany, 2009Portugal Now, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA,

Spring 2008Portuguese Architecture and Design 1990-2005,

La Triennale di Milano, Italy, 2005Metaux, La Biennale di Venezia, 9th InternationalArchitecture Exhibition, Venice, Italy, 2004

Inux, Serralves Museum, Porto, Portugal, 20032aExposio Nacional de Arquitectura, Sociedade

de Belas-Artes, Lisbon, Portugal, 1992

PROMONTORIO: Trabalhos selecionadosPROMONTORIO: Selected works

Prmios Awards

1stPrize,Architecture Prize Vale da Gndara 2012(Parque Kindergarten)

International Architecture Award, The ChicagoAtheneaum Museum of Architecture and Design,2012 (LAnd Vineyards Hotel)

European Steel Design Award, 2011Finalist, World Architecture Festival, Barcelona, 2010Finalist, SECIL Portuguese National Prize

for Architecture, 20082ndPrize, VI Bienal Iberoamericana de Arquitetura

e Urbanismo (BIAU), 2008International Architecture Award, The Chicago

Atheneaum Museum of Architecture and Design,2008 (Mora River Aquarium)

Short-listed runner-up,BSI Swiss ArchitecturalAward, 2008

1st

Prize,Portuguese Museum Award, 2008Nominee,EU Prize for Contemporary ArchitectureMies van der Rohe Award, 2007

Finalist, Secil Portuguese National Prizefor Architecture, 2004

Honorable Mention,Architecti-Arkial Prize, 1999Finalist, Secil Portuguese National Prize

for Architecture, 1998Shortlisted, Valmor Prize, 1997

Complexo Oriente Oriente complex Habitaes de Telheiras Telheiras housing Sede da Xerox Portugal Ofces of Xerox Portugal


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PROMONTORIO

Concursos premiados Awarded competitions

Correio-Mor Housing Estate, Loures (greaterLisbon), Portugal, 2011 (competition, 1st-prize)

Palmares Golf Villas, Lagos (Algarve), Portugal,2011 (competition, design awarded)

Embassy of Egypt(Restelo), Lisbon, Portugal, 2010

(competition, 1st-prize)National Forensics Police, Lisbon, Portugal, 2010

(competition, 2nd-prize)Comporta Terraces(Alentejo), Portugal, 2010

(competition, 1st-prize)Open-air Museum of the Alcacer Castle,

Alcacer do Sal (Alentejo), Portugal, 2010(public competition, 1st-prize)

Alcacer Riverfront Alcacer do Sal(Alentejo),Portugal, 2010 (open competition, 1stprize)

Sifok Contemporary Art Centre, Sifok, Hungary,

2010 (competition, 2nd

-prize)Tivoli Carvoeiro, Carvoeiro (Algarve), Portugal,2010 (shortlist competition, 2nd-prize)

Radisson Sochi Grand Marina, Sochi (Krasnodar),Russia, 2010 (competition, 2nd-prize)

Troia Casino(Grandola), Portugal, 2009(competition, 1st-prize) 2011 (built)

Tivoli Jardim Interior Design, Lisbon, Portugal,2008 (shortlist competition, 1st-prize)

Palmares Golf Townhouses, Meia Praia (Lagos),Algarve, 2008 (competition, 1st-prize)

Forte Centre Carnaxide(greater Lisbon), Portugal,

2008 (competition, 1st-prize)Vilalara Resort Lagoa, Porches (Algarve), Portugal,

2008 (shortlist competition, 1st-prize) 2011(refurbishment, built)

Troia Design Hotel Interior Design(Alentejo),Portugal, 2007 (competition, 1st-prize) (built)

Troia Design Hotel Spa(Alentejo), Portugal 2007(competition, 1st-prize) 2010 (built)

Insectarium, Portimao riverfront (Algarve),Portugal, 2006 (competition, 1st-prize)

Originarium, Portimao riverfront (Algarve),

Portugal, 2006 (competition, 1st

-prize)Aquarium, Portimao riverfront (Algarve), Portugal,2006 (competition, 1st-prize)

Portimao Riverfront(Algarve), Portugal, 2006(competition, 1st-prize)

Fabrica Housing, Lagos (Algarve), Portugal, 2006(shortlist competition, 2nd-prize)

Mora River Aquarium(Alentejo), Portugal, 2004(competition, 1st-prize) 2006 (built)

European Library of Information and Culture,Milan, 2002 (shortlist competition, 2nd-prize)

Portugal Telecom Store chain, Portugal, 2002

(shortlist competition, 1st-prize)Westin Lisboa Hotel, Lisbon Expo98

(Parque das Naes), Portugal 2001(shortlist competition, 1st-prize)

Xerox Centre, Lisbon, Portugal, 1996(shortlist competition, 1st-prize) 2001 (built)

Lisbon Exhibition Centre, Expo98, Portugal, 1994(shortlist competition, 2nd-prize)

Telheiras Housing, Lisbon, 1993(competition, 1st-prize) 1997 (built)

Bloco Carnide Carnide Block Lote 1.10 Plot 1.10 Gabinete do Primeiro Ministro Cabinet of Prime Minister


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PROMONTORIO

Entrevista ao PROMONTORIOInterview to PROMONTORIO

Joo Carlos Fonseca (Texto Text)

Telmo Miller (Fotograa Photography)


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PROMONTORIO

Founded two decades ago, PROMONTORIO is a truly

unique practice in Portugal. Not only by the way it set

itself out to blatantly respond a complex environment both

it terms of scale, range of programmes and locations, but

also the remarkable disciplinary resistance and tectonic

character it has relentlessly sought. In a world increasingly

dominated by the media, the work of PROMONTORIO

returns us to the universal principles of the Art of Building,namely, solidity, comfort and durability.

In a candid conversation with two of its partners, we probe

into the critical foundations of this studio, both in terms

of its theoretical and symbolic principles, as well as its

operational concerns involving working in such disparate

locations as Egypt, Qatar, Mozambique, Syria or Siberia.

ARCHI 5 partners, 50 collaborators, a multidisciplinary response:

architecture, planning, landscape design and interior design.

How do you organize? Are you divided by areas of intervention?

Do you work as a team?

Paulo Martins Barata We all respond fully to the various subject areas. Over

the years, each of us has sought answers to their own specic areas of interest and

the sharing of that has been very important to us all. The partner who seeks or

brings in a new client may or may not be the one to develop the project. Since

we do our work as a team, there isnt really a production chain approach.Joo Lus Ferreira Everything is as it has always been, since, from

concept to construction, diluted though it may be, there is an implicit

authorship, and there is always the presence of someone who leads the whole

process from beginning to end. But, since what interests us is the rationality

of the work itself, we prefer our work to express more of a thesis than an

expression of individuality.

Fundado h duas dcadas, o PROMONTORIO um atelicom uma prtica verdadeiramente nica em Portugal.No apenas pela forma desassombrada como encara adiversidade da escala, dos programas e das localizaes, mastambm pela notvel resistncia disciplinar e tectnica queprocura conferir arquitetura. Num universo crescentementedominado pelos mdia, a obra dos PROMONTORIO remete-nos

para princpios e valores universais da arte de construir, comoa solidez, o conforto e a durabilidade.

conversa com dois dos scios, procurmos compreendera fundamentao crtica deste ateli, desde os aspectos maistericos e simblicos, s metodologias e questes operacionaisque envolvem obras em stios to diversos como Egito, Qatar,Moambique, Sria ou Sibria.

ARCHI PROMONTORIO: 5 scios, 50 colaboradores, uma resposta

multidisciplinar: Arquitetura, Planeamento, Paisagismo, Interiores,

Design de Produto. Como que se organizam? Dividem-se por reas de

interveno? Trabalha-se em equipa?

Paulo Martins BarataTodos respondemos integralmente s vrias reas

disciplinares. Ainda assim, ao longo dos anos, cada um procurou respostas

para as suas reas de interesse especco e essa partilha tem sido importante.

O scio que angaria ou deliza um cliente pode, ou no, ser ele a desenvolver

o projeto. Como trabalhamos em equipa, no h propriamente uma cadeiade produo.

Joo Lus FerreiraTudo como sempre foi, uma vez que do conceito

obra, embora ela seja diluda, h uma autoria implcita, h a presena de

algum que conduz o processo do princpio ao m. Mas como o que nos

interessa a racionalidade da obra, procuramos que sejam mais uma tese,

do que uma expresso da personalidade.


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ARCHI Is there a space of freedom and of collective intervention

on a conceptual level?

PMBThere is always partial consensus about certain ideas, which are

fundamental. But it does not mean that there is a doctrinal dictator that the

ve of us have to be in agreement.

ARCHI Is there any need for conict management at certain moments

that force you to greater manifestations of leadership?

PMB Yes, every once in a while, but there is also mutual trust. The onewho takes on a job has to lead and manage the relationship with the client.

One must have room to manoeuvre, and cannot stand there waiting to be

endorsed by the other partners.

ARCHI Does the more experimentalist trend of your early years

still hold?

PMBInterestingly, I nd that we are more experimental today than

in the past Its actually a matter of necessity.

JLFExperimentalism is a modern concept and today it seems that

everything advances only through experience, through trial and error.

If everything were an experience there would be no knowledge. However,

much of the work that is done from a certain moment on is the result of

cumulative knowledge, of awareness. In the beginning there may be this idea

of experimentalism, but you cant keep it up forever. Unless one wants to keep

on dazzling without drawing any conclusions.... What we have is the update

of though, be that as it may philosophical, artistic, or other.

ARCHI How do you approach the adaptation process to new realities?

PMB

Permanently, there is no other way. Those who fail to understandtheReal Politikof the profession will nd great limitations in terms of their

working with consequence, with a clear assessment of the practice.

JLFAll art, as all philosophy, lives from the present, or from permanent

re-actualization, otherwise its either culture or history. Our proposals are for

the immediate future and we know, in every moment, that what we do is the

best synthesis of everything weve learned, memorized, criticized and has

ARCHI Existe um espao de liberdade e de interveno colectiva ao nvel

da concepo?

PMB H sempre consensos parciais sobre determinadas ideias e

princpios, que so fundamentais. Mas no signica que haja uma lgica

doutrinria ou que tenhamos os cinco que estar de acordo.

ARCHI No h necessidade de gesto de conitos em determinados

momentos que obrigue a maiores manifestaes de liderana?

PMB Sim, de vez em quando, mas tambm h conana mtua.

Quem assume um trabalho tem de o liderar e gerir a relao com o cliente.

Tem de ter espao de manobra; no pode car espera de ser legitimado

pelos outros scios.

ARCHI A tendncia mais experimentalista dos primeiros anos ainda

se mantm?

PMB Curiosamente, no sei se hoje no seremos hoje mais laboratoriais do

que no passado Trata-se at de uma questo de necessidade.

A aurora da modernidade, aindaassente no artfice, base de umacultura tectnica, sofreu uma mutao,tanto no figurativo, como no abstrato.Obrigou o arquiteto a sair do plano da

criao e da produo da arquiteturaem si mesma, para o colocar no planodas imagens e referncias visuais;um mundo estranhamente prximoda publicidade

The dawn of modernism, still basedon a tectonic culture, a culture of

craftsmanship, has mutated bothfiguratively and abstractly. It forcedthe architect to leave the field ofarchitectural creation in itself, toposition himself in world of imagesand visual references; a worldstrangely closer to advertising


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PROMONTORIO

Parque urbano de Portimo, maqueta de arena de BTT, 2010 Portimo urban park, model of BTT arena, 2010

JLF Mas nunca o experimentalismo pelo experimentalismo, que em

abstrato, um conceito moderno. Hoje parece que tudo apenas avana

por experincias, por ensaio e erro. Se tudo fosse experincia no

haveria saber. Ora, muito do trabalho que se faz a partir de certo momento

resultado de um saber, de uma conscincia. No incio pode haver essa ideia de

experimentalismo, mas no se ca para sempre nisso. A no ser que se queira

ir de deslumbramento em deslumbramento, sem tirar concluses. O que h

actualizao do pensamento, seja losco, artstico, ou outro.ARCHI Como abordam o processo de adequao a novas realidades?

PMB De forma permanente; no h mesmo outro caminho. Quem no

compreender aReal Politikda prosso sua volta ter grandes limitaes

para actuar de forma consciente; com plena noo do que est a fazer.

JLF Toda a arte, como toda a losoa, vive da atualidade, ou da

permanente reatualizao, seno cultura ou histria. As nossas propostas

so no imediato e sabemos, em cada momento, que o que fazemos a melhor

sntese possvel de tudo o que aprendemos, memorizamos, criticamos e nos

induziu numa necessidade de comunicao, de expresso, de participao...

Procuramos seguir alguns princpios que fazem parte da prpria essncia da

arquitetura, como as ideias de durabilidade, de construir bem, deconforto,

de utilidade, etc. E perante novas solicitaes, tipos de projetos e usos

diferentes, diferentes localizaes e culturas, somos impelidos a pensar

aqueles princpios e a traduzi-los perante essas novas realidades e a

pensar tudo de novo. A nossa formao e os anos de aprendizagem, que

se foram consolidando, nunca podem ser e aqui julgo que nunca foram ,

uma espcie de frmula. Mas h uma preparao e um conhecimento que nos

permite abordar questes novas sem necessariamente pormos em causa tudo

o que sabemos.

ARCHI Os tempos atuais so de maior presso e angstia. O tempo

tambm mais curto. A necessidade de resposta rpida, eciente e ecaz

mais aguda do que no passado

JLF H sempre incerteza quanto ao futuro. O que diferente agora

induced us into a necessity of communication, expression, participation...

We try to follow certain principles that are part of the very essence of

architecture, such as the principles of durability, of quality in construction,

comfort, usefulness, etc. And before new requests, types of projects and

different uses, different locations and cultures, we are impelled to think

of those principles and to translate them before these new realities and to

think it all over again. Our training and years of learning, which have been

consolidated, can never be and here I believe they never were a kind of

formula. But there is a preparation and a wisdom that allows us to tackle new

issues without necessarily questioning everything we know.

ARCHI Present times are of higher pressure and anguish. Time is also

shorter. The need for a fast, efcient and effective response is more acute

than in the past...

JLF There is always uncertainty about the future. What is different now is

that we are not anesthetized with exaggerated optimisms. If pessimism is not

a systematic way of observing reality, is good for tempering overcondence,

which, at a certain point, becomes a dictatorship of certainties, which are by

nature, uncertain, and guaranteed successes that may not be so guaranteed.

Anguish is a state of progress and thus, not a denitive status. It comes from


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o facto de no estarmos anestesiados com optimismos exagerados.

O pessimismo, se no for um modo sistemtico de ver a realidade, bom

para temperar o excesso de conana que se torna a certa altura numa

ditadura de certezas que so por natureza incertas e sucessos garantidos

que podero no estar to garantidos. A angstia uma fase de um progresso

e por isso no um estado denitivo. Surge perante a diculdade de resolver

bem os problemas de qualquer natureza. A presso cria angstia porquereduz o tempo de reexo e de resposta e essa exigncia cada vez mais

forte. Porm, a verdadeira presso vem do afastamento do pensamento e da

reexo disciplinar e hoje o escape o recurso ao mundo das imagens, ao que

est feito, citao. Vivemos rodeados de imagens. Parece que tudo j foi

feito. Procurar ser original quase absurdo! A citao reautoriza e valida

um discurso e d entrada a um novo senador (risos). E a surgem as poses

hericas. No j das obras mas dos seus autores a serem fotografados como se

fossem monges, eremitas ou imperadores romanos. preciso procurar outros

caminhos. Vive-se a conscincia de que o tempo transio, passagem de

dois mundos: um a que j nos tnhamos acomodado; e o outro que nos exige

novas perspectivas. A globalizao, por exemplo, aproximou o local do global,

mas perdeu-se a mediao. Filosocamente, a relao do indivduo com o

absoluto feita de mediaes, vrias entidades e identidades a famlia, o

povo, ou o continente a que se pertence, os valores culturais. Todas estas

the difculty of properly solving problems of any nature. Pressure creates

anguish because it reduces the time for reection and response, and this

requirement is increasingly stronger. However, the real pressure comes from

the removal of thought and disciplinary reection, and today the escape is

made through the world of images, through what is already done, the quote.

We live surrounded by images. It seems that everything has already been done.

Looking for originality is almost absurd! The quote reauthorizes and validates

a discourse, giving entrance to a new Senator (laughs). And there are theheroic poses. Not of works but of their authors to be photographed as though

they were monks, hermits or Roman emperors. We must search for other paths.

We are aware that time is transition, the passage of two worlds: one that we are

already accustomed to, and the other that demands from us new perspectives.

Globalization, for instance, has approached local to global, but mediation

got lost. Philosophically, the relationship of the individual with the absolute

is made of mediations, several entities and identities the family, the people

or the continent to which we belong, the cultural values. All these entities/

identities are a reection of each other, and the individual thought progresses

through them in their relationship with each other. If these mediations fail to

be recognized, each of us is put before superlative issues through its individual

singularity and hardly recognizes itself in a community, in a joint project, in a

participated construction. It is a kind of solitude before the absolute. The result

is made of would-be heroes with their own causes and inated egos, but who

dont represent anything. Now architecture and urbanism live through this

identity and participation process, namely, the construction of communities

and their identity. If architecture and urbanism do not perceive and translate

this sense of community and involvement, they are reduced to an imposition

and a dictatorship of personalities and individual wills. The reduction of

distances that globalization suggests did not necessarily create proximity.

The relationship between local and global must be mediated by live, concrete,

recognizable entities and identities. The culture of image and the reduction of

architecture to narcissistic impositions is a path that leads to nowhere, if not

... os bons arquitetos,quando morrem,no vo para o cu,mas para a Sua

...when good architects die,they dont go to heaven,

they go to Switzerland


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PROMONTORIO

entidades/identidades so reexo umas das outras e o pensamento individual

progride atravs delas no seu relacionamento com o outro. Se essas mediaes

deixam de ser reconhecidas, cada um posto perante questes superlativas

a partir da sua singularidade individual e dicilmente se reconhece numa

comunidade, num projeto comum, numa construo participada. Fica

numa espcie de solido perante o absoluto. O resultado so pretensos

heris de causas prprias com egos insuados mas que no representam

nada. Ora a arquitetura e o urbanismo vivem desse processo de identidadee participao, ou seja, da construo das comunidades e da sua identidade.

Se a arquitetura e o urbanismo no percepcionam e traduzem esse sentido de

comunidade e participao, cam reduzidos a uma imposio e a uma ditadura

das personalidades e de vontades avulsas. A reduo das distncias que a

globalizao sugere no gerou necessariamente mais proximidade. A relao

entre o local e o global tem de ser mediado por entidades e identidades vivas,

concretas, reconhecveis. A cultura da imagem e a reduo da arquitetura

s imposies do narcisismo um caminho que leva a nenhures se no

corrupo da arquitetura.ARCHI Que grandes mudanas se tm feito sentir na arquitetura e no

fazer arquitetura?

PMB H no muito tempo zemos um exerccio, que era o de procurar

saber o que aconteceu disciplina da arquitetura nos ltimos 30 anos. Portugal

consolidou, em termos europeus, uma excelente produo arquitetnica.

F-lo custa de uma imensa disseminao de escolas e de um nmero excessivo

de arquitetos em relao populao que tem, impondo uma lgica de

concorrncia que dramtica para a continuidade da prosso. Em termos

internacionais tambm houve eroso. A aurora da modernidade, ainda assente

no artce, base de uma cultura tectnica, sofreu uma mutao, tanto no

gurativo, como no abstrato. Obrigou o arquiteto a sair do plano da criao e

da produo da arquitetura em si mesma, para o colocar no plano das imagens e

referncias visuais; um mundo estranhamente prximo da publicidade. Perdeu-se

o tempo do amadurecimento e presume-se ser possvel uma arquitetura

to the corruption of architecture.

ARCHI What major changes have been felt in architecture and

in doing architecture?

PMBNot so long ago, we did a critical exercise that consisted in

examining what happened to architecture, as discipline, in the course of the

past 30 years. In European terms, Portugal has consolidated an excellent

architectural production. It did so, at the expense of a massive spread of

schools and an excessive number of architects vis--visthe population that

it has, by imposing a ruthless market competition that is disastrous for the

continuity of the profession. In international terms there was also erosion.

The dawn of modernism, still based on a tectonic culture, a culture of

craftsmanship, has mutated both guratively and abstractly. It forced the

architect to leave the eld of architectural creation in itself, to position himself

in world of images and visual references; a world strangely closer

to advertising. Time of ripening has been lost and we assume the possibility

of an instant architecture,prt--porter. The Heideggerian time,

the time of thinking while building and building while thinking, seems to be

out of this culture of imagery citation, of the reference that adapts to everything

and to its opposite.

ARCHI And with diffuse and fragmented interventions...

PMB There was the Idea of Enlightenment that architecture would be able

to close a full cycle, since the rst thought about a place, to the founding act

of laying the rst stone, until its completion and its dwelling. All this essential

Vista area da maquete da Praa de Entrecampos Praca de Entrecampos model birds eye view

PROMONTORIO


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instantnea,prt--porter. O tempo do fazer Heideggeriano, o tempo de pensar

construindo, e construir pensando, parece estar fora desta cultura da citao

imagtica, da referncia que d para tudo e para o seu contrrio.

ARCHI E com intervenes difusas e parcelares

PMB Havia a ideia iluminista de que a arquitetura teria a capacidade

de fechar um circulo, desde o primeiro pensamento sobre um lugar, ao ato

fundador da pedra, sua constituio em obra vivida. Tudo essa experincia

disciplinar foi estilhaada. Os projetos hoje so feitos em partes e passam demo-em-mo. Isso condenou a ideia da arquitetura como Gesamtkunstwerk,

como obra total.

ARCHI Convive-se bem com essa realidade?

PMBDicilmente! No universo de servios anglo-saxnico algo

normal. Faz-se o Concept Design, entrega-se ao cliente, e este faz dele o que

quiser; manda-o para a ndia onde encomenda os Construction Documents

a quem zer mais barato. Ns Europeus, e principalmente Ibricos, temos

uma tradio disciplinar. Acreditamos na ideia, ainda que Quixotesca, de

que a prosso deve fechar o tal circulo, desde a criao at experinciafsica do prprio objeto construdo. Por isso, para ns PROMONTORIO,

sempre algo difcil de aceitar. Ficamos sempre a pensar que, ao entregarmos

o conceito, cmos aqum do que poda ser a obra. E se recebemos o

conceito de algum e temos de o transformar, sentimos que estamos fora do

nosso elemento, porque no fomos ns que crimos aquilo, e no sentimos

uma empatia residual, ou suciente, para a assumirmos como nossa.

Este desmembramento do projeto difcil para todos.

JLF Vale a pena tambm olhar para a relao entre o urbanismo

e a arquitetura para perceber a importncia dos limites disciplinares.

Se desenvolvemos um projeto urbano ainda no estamos a fazer arquitetura,

isto , edifcios. Por isso de duas uma: ou temos a encomenda para fazer tudo

e nesse caso produzimos arquitetura e urbanismo como um s, ainda que

dentro dos limites das atribuies de cada um; ou, fazendo um plano, temos

de conceder a liberdade necessria para que quem venha a seguir possa dar

experience has been shattered. Today, architecture is made in parts and changes

hands like a commodity. This forever condemned the idea of architecture as a

Gesamtkunstwerk.

ARCHI Do you coexist well with this reality?

PMBHardly! For the Anglo-Saxon service-providing world, this is

something normal; its business as usual. One does the concept design,

delivery it to the client, and he goes on to decide what to do with it. We, in

continental Europe, and especially in Iberia, have a disciplinary tradition.We still grasp on to the Quixotesque idea that the profession closes that circle,

from creation to the dwelling experience of the built object in itself. So for

us, PROMONTORIO, it is always something difcult to accept. We always

end up thinking that if we delivered just the concept, we sold ourselves short

because we could have done much more. And if we received the concept

from someone else and we have to transform it, we feel that we are out of

our element, because we didnt create it and do not feel sufcient empathy to

assume it as our own. This truncation is difcult for everyone.

JLFIt is also worthwhile to look at the relationship between urbanism

and architecture to realize the importance of disciplinary boundaries. If we

develop an urban project we are not yet doing architecture, as such, buildings.

Therefore, there are two possibilities: either we were commissioned to do

the complete project and, in that case, we produce architecture and urbanism

as one, though within the limits of each others expertise; or, by doing an

urban plan, we must grant the necessary freedom to whomever comes next,

so that that they may give the expression and content to the site without

having to do what someone before them has imposed. It is within the need of

this harmonization that one realizes that there are values, in addition to the

individual wills, that are important to meet if we intend to create works and

cities with substance and cultural identity.

ARCHI There is the tendency to think that things only work like that

here, and that outside everything happens perfectly... What does your

experience of the world tell you?

PROMONTORIO


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PROMONTORIO

a expresso e o contedo ao lugar sem ter de fazer praticamente o que antes

dele algum imps. na necessidade desta harmonizao que se percebe

que h valores, para alm das vontades individuais, que importa atender se

pretendemos criar obras e cidades com substncia e identidade cultural.

ARCHI H a tendncia para pensar que s por c assim e que l

fora tudo acontece de forma perfeita O que diz a vossa experincia

do mundo?

PMBNo somos melhores, nem piores. Mas tudo vai piorar. Temos umparque construdo imenso e muitos arquitetos. Disciplinarmente houve uma

verdadeira exploso. Mas, no mundo, encontramos de tudo. claro que a

Sua o paraso. Parafraseando Oscar Wilde, costumo dizer que os bons

arquitetos, quando morrem, no vo para o cu, mas para a Sua. Tudo

est muito acima da mdia: honorrios, prazos, qualidade construtiva, jris,

concursos, e claro est, oramentos inigualveis. frica, em geral tem as

vantagens e as desvantagens das sociedades jovens; gera muitas expectativas,

mas exige persistncia, disponibilidade e um esprito verdadeiramente

construtivo. Na Amrica Latina h um grande voluntarismo ideolgico, umagrande entusiasmo, uma disponibilidade de construir sem hesitaes. Muitas

vezes, a funcionalidade e a pormenorizao negligenciada. A construo

pode at ser menos rigorosa, mas muito visual, corprea, metafrica,

de grande exuberncia e sensualidade. Na China constroem-se cidades

instantneas que ningum habita. E no se percebe que estudos de mercado

levaram a isso, quem os fez, e em que condies. Sabe-se que alguns so da

autoria de arquitetos ocidentais

JLFNos Estados Unidos ou se recorre grande indstria, ou seja

pr-fabricao, ou ento o preo exorbitante e proibitivo. Os arquitetos

americanos expressam muitas vezes a ideia de que mais fcil fazerem

projetos na Europa do que nos Estados Unidos. Dizem que aqui mais fcil

lanar um desao e montar uma operao de produo de um determinado

componente. H uma tradio de pequena e mdia indstr ia familiar de

grande sosticao.

PMB We are neither better, nor worse. But everything will get worse.

We simply have a massive stock of vacant buildings coupled with an excessive

number of architects. There was a kind of explosion profession-wise. But,

out in the world, we nd a bit of everything. Switzerland is paradise, of course.

I often say, adapting a quote from Oscar Wilde, that when good architects

die, they dont go to heaven , they go to Switzerland. There, everything is

above average: fees, salaries, design standards, competitions, juries, and last

but not least, unimaginablebudgets. Africa, in general, has the advantages anddisadvantages of young societies; it generates many expectations but requires

persistence, personal availability and a truly constructive spirit. In Latin

America there is an enormous contribution of ideas and a great ability to build

without hesitation. Sometimes, details are overlooked and the construction

may be less rigorous, but it is all very visual, conceptual, corporeal, and

metaphorical, with great exuberance and sensual exuberance. In China, they

are building instant cities that remain strangely uninhabited. And one doesnt

understand what kind of market studies supported them, who made them, and

under which conditions. One only knows that some have been designed by

Western architects...

JLFIn the United States, for instances, either you resort to widespread

industrial systems, namely prefab, or the price of customizing is prohibitive.

American architects often express the idea that it is much easier to build in

Europe, than in the United States. They say that, here, it is easier to challenge

a fabricator to custom-develop a particular component or material. There is a

tradition of small and medium-size family-run industry of great sophistication.

ARCHI Competition is measured on a global scale in a market that is

becoming increasingly complex. Given the diversity of clients worldwide,

how can the different rms make a competitive differentiation?

PMB Competition worldwide is extremely aggressive. It is one of

the immediate consequences of globalization in the profession. Between

a European project designed with the outmost rigour and experience, and

another from a Chinese, Indian, Filipino or Egyptian ofce, at the time of

PROMONTORIO


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ARCHI A concorrncia mede-se escala mundial num mercado cada

vez mais complexo. Perante uma clientela to diversicada, o que marca a

diferena entre uns e outros?

PMB A concorrncia internacional extremamente agressiva. uma

das consequncias imediatas da globalizao na prosso. Entre um projeto

feito por um ateli europeu com muita experincia e grande rigor, e um

ateli chins, indiano, lipino ou egpcio, no momento de contratar o servio,

perante uma enorme diferena de preo, qual a realidade percepcionada pelocliente?

Ser que percebe a diferena entre uns e outros? E at que ponto? Essa a

questo. nestes caminhos que todos nos cruzamos.

JLF Em pases emergentes, para um promotor fazer um edifcio bonito ou

feio, melhor ou pior detalhado, a mesma coisa, -lhe indiferente. Ele vende

rea, vende metros quadrados. Dizemos-lhe que o projeto fraco e que se

podia fazer melhor. Mas para qu gastar mais dinheiro com um arquiteto mais

sosticado leia-se mais complicado , que lhe desenhe um edifcio melhor se

j tem algo que lhe serve perfeitamente? At j tem tudo aprovado e vendidoem planta... Isto no tem propriamente soluo. E ningum tem a frmula

para sair disto. Acontece em todo o lado e a nica forma de sair deste crculo

vicioso conseguir fazer alguma coisa que diferencie e v criando exemplo.

A situao do mundo actual um pouco esta: estamos mal dispostos e no

sabemos se fome ou sono No se sabe de que mal se padece mas sente-se

o incmodo. Isso d-nos a sensao de que estamos em suspenso, espera de

alguma coisa que tarda a acontecer. Sentimos a saturao e o beco no tem

sada. Sempre que se chega a um paradoxo, a um crculo fechado, antev-se

uma mudana. Uma nova dinmica que transforme o crculo em espiral.

Julgo que estamos todos nessa expectativa. Claro que h uma prtica diria

a cumprir. Continuam a existir projetos e clientes

ARCHI Qual o discurso do mtodo possvel?

JLF Damos importncia procura da disciplinaridade. O que prprio

da arquitetura e s da arquitetura. E centramo-nos nisso. H uma gramtica

commissioning, between the immense price differences, which reality does

the client perceive? Does he fully realize the difference between one and the

other? That is the question that we all cross paths with.

JLFIn emerging countries, for a developer to build better or worse, uglier

or nicer, its all the same thing. He sells square footage. We can let him know

that the project is weak and that it could be done much better. But why spend

more money with a sophisticated architect, i.e. more complicatedwho will

design a more emblematic building, if you already have something that suitsyou perfectly? You already have everything approved and pre-sold or pre-let...

This doesnt exactly have a real solution. And nobody has the formula to

overcome this conundrum. It happens everywhere and the only way out of this

vicious circle is by doing something that differentiates and then have it serve

as an example. This is the current situation in the world: we are indisposed

and do not know whether it is hunger or lack of sleep. One doesnt know

what is wrong, but one feels discomfort. This gives us the feeling that we are

suspended, waiting for something that lingers. We feel the saturation and the

dead-endlessness. Whenever you reach a paradox, a closed circle, a change

can be foreseen; a new dynamic about to transforms the circle into a spiral.

I believe we are all under this expectation. Sure, there is a daily practice to

maintain. And of course there will still be projects and clients...

ARCHI What is the possible discourse of method?

JLF We give importance to the pursui t of the discipline. That, which is

of architecture and architecture alone. And we focus on that; on its grammar

and on its history. We come to realize that which was decanted by time has

yielded enduring results. There is always something implicit in what you see

beyond what it looks like. Starting from the categorial triad rmitas, utilitas and

venustasto dene architecture is a good start. When you ask of architecture for

durability it is because it is architecture. It is like asking for it to be eternal. You

dont ask durability in fashion, because we know that it will last only six months...

Even though nowadays there are many theories and ideas that advocate the

ephemeral. But that is a product of the time. When we speak of civilizations, of

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PROMONTORIO

Plano de Urbanizao de Maputo-Sul (2010-2012) Maputo-South city master plan (2010-2012)

peoples and their architecture, we speak of the architecture that prevails, solid,

thought of in a consequential way, for people. The idea of durability implies a

responsibility, which induces the other categories and the importance of their

observation. Why making the uncomfortable and ugly last?...

ARCHI But isnt current architecture generally more ephemeral?

PMBThere is a character of permanence in architecture, which is perhaps

the last port where we might anchor. All built works tends to remain beyond

its time, even at the cost of exposing all its frailties or supercial presence;it is the will of an epoch which Mies often referred to. Even in a work

that is so immersed in its life-world, after a while we start to acknowledge

its shortcomings. When we go to La Villette (Paris) and see the whole

deconstructivism schizophrenia of Bernard Tschumi, we realize that all of that

is not liable of any for of re-appropriation. It is a built trans-generational body,

registrar of the memory of a time and the moment in which people lived.

JLFAnd if preserved, it remains ad eternum.

PMB Therefore, when there is a process of sedimentation, something

remains substantial as a record of our time. And thus its vital importance to

society as a whole.

ARCHI Is this is a concern of PROMONTORIO?

PMBThat should be the concern. Prizes in architecture should only be

bestowed after a decade passed on the buildings, so that they could be tested,

experienced, lived on...

JLFAnd immersed in the city... But we nevertheless realize that the idea

of registration and preservation of which we have spoken is not only in the

exterior sense, but on the very genesis of the creation of the work.

PMB Sometimes, we ask ourselves about what will remain of substance

from our era? What ballast will we leave behind for reection and for the

coming future?

ARCHI Is there an international vocation of PROMONTORIO? What

aspects are in its architecture to conquer a permanent status in places with

such dissimilar cultures and experiences?

e uma histria. H que perceber o que foi decantado pelo tempo e deu bons

resultados. Existe sempre algo implcito no que se v para alm daquilo que

parece. Partir da tradermitas, utilitase venustaspara denir a arquitetura um bom comeo. Quando se pede durabilidade arquitetura porque

arquitetura. como se pedssemos para ela ser eterna. No se pede

durabilidade moda, pois sabemos que para durar apenas seis meses

Ainda que hoje em dia haja muitas teorias e ideias que defendem o efmero.

Mas isso produto da poca. Quando falamos de civilizaes, de povos

e da sua arquitetura, trata-se daquela que ca, slida, que foi pensada de

uma forma consequente, para as pessoas. A ideia de durabilidade implica

uma responsabilidade que induz as outras categorias e a importncia da sua

observao. Para qu fazer durar o desconfortvel e o feio?

ARCHI Mas a arquitetura actual no tendencialmente mais efmera?

PMB H um carcter de permanncia na arquitetura, que talvez seja

o ltimo porto a que nos podemos ancorar. Toda a obra construda tende a

permanecer para l do seu tempo, mesmo expondo as suas fragilidades ou

supercialidades. Mesmo numa obra to completamente imersa na sua poca,

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PMB We dont have to be everywhere. We dont live the obsession that

contemporary life must go through that process. Kant lived most of his life,

15 minutes away from the University, went back and forth, fullling a trivial

daily route, and managed to change the world. Fellini lived in the Cinecitt

and always hated having to get out of it. So, we can all be close to home

and transform the universe. Be that as it may, and given the size of our rm,

we have very naturally opened other paths and other opportunities across

borders.

ARCHI Is there a previously dened strategy that points to certain

destinations?

passado algum tempo comeamos a reconhecer as suas fragilidades, os seus

tiques. Quando vamos a La Villette (Paris) e vemos aquela esquizofrenia

desconstrutivista (Bernard Tschumi), percebemos que nada daquilo passvel

de reapropriao, apesar de representativo da sua poca. um corpo construdo

transgeracional, registo e memria de uma poca e do momento em que se viveu .

JLF E se for preservado mantm-se ad eternum.

PMB Da a responsabilidade deste processo de decantao, daquilo

que ca de substancial, como um registo da uma poca. E da tambm a suaimportncia para a sociedade como um todo.

ARCHI Essa uma preocupao do PROMONTORIO?

PMB Essa deve ser a preocupao. Os prmios em arquitetura deviam

s ser atribudos passada uma dcada de experincia de vida sobre as obras,

de modo a que pudessem ser testados, experimentados, vividos

JLFE absorvidos Mas preciso, ainda assim, perceber que a ideia de

registo e preservao de que falei no no sentido exterior mas sim o que est

na prpria gnese da criao da obra.

PMB Por vezes, perguntamo-nos o que de verdadeiramente substancialcar da nossa era. Qual o lastro que ca para reexo e para o futuro.

ARCHI H uma vocao internacional do PROMONTORIO?

Que aspectos relevam na vossa arquitetura para conquistar o estatuto

da permanncia em lugares com culturas e vivncias to dspares?

PMBNo temos a pretenso de estar em todo o lado. Nem vivemos

a obsesso de que a modernidade passa por isso. Kant viveu sempre a

15 minutos da universidade, ia e voltava, num pequeno percurso dirio, e

conseguiu mudar o mundo. Felini vivia na Cinecitt e detestava ter de l

sair. Por isso, todos podemos estar prximos de casa e transformar o universo

que nos rodeia. Seja como for, dada a dimenso do nosso ateli, temos

aberto, muito naturalmente, outros caminhos, outras geograas, procurando

oportunidades.

ARCHI Existe uma estratgia previamente denida que aponte para

determinados destinos?

Existe sempre algo implcito no quese v para alm daquilo que parece.Partir da trade firmitas, utilitasevenustaspara definir a arquitetura um bom comeo. Quando se pededurabilidade arquitetura porque arquitetura

There is always something implicit inwhat you see beyond what it looks like.Starting from the categorialtriad firmitas, utilitasand venustasto define architecture is a good start.When you ask of architecturefor durability it is becauseit is architecture

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PMB Internationalization requires a strategy and we do not expect any

help from the State. We are daring, patient and spirited. We move in and take

risks. We have set up companies in Mozambique and in Qatar. We have a

partnership in Angola. We have ongoing projects in construction in Egypt and

in the Russian Federation. This is our recent worldview... We are or have been

in many other countries, mainly in the Middle East and the Maghreb. But we

are not y-bys. We detest the idea of someone landing at an airport, selling

a concept of a shopping centre, some ofce towers with or without hotel, deliverthe drawings in two-weeks time, collect 250 thousand dollars, and move on the

ight to somewhere else. It is the complete debasement of our profession. Selling

inconsequential illustrations, which, as a modus operandi, are closer to

advertising than architecture. Our ambition is to develop the project in full from

concept and construction to the very opening day. Therefore, it is difcult

for us to imagine that we can be in four or ve countries at the same time in

permanent production. Each country, each community, requires a certain

proximity. It requires proximity not only to clients and authorities, but to

the place, the people, the landscape There is that other worldview, by which

projects can be made overnight, in India or the Philippines, by English and North

American subcontracting. The question is, do the people there really know what

they are doing? Anyone who thinks that it is possible to have a bunch of people

working in India or China, and are able to produce what we Europeans and

Anglo-Saxon, produce, should think again. Architecture requires a combination

of intelligence, knowledge and experience. Is not transferable to someone in the

belief that it can be made into a mechanical problem-solving... But there are a lot

of people thinking that the architect gives the idea, the big idea , and then its

can be delivered to the world by a production system Globalization has also

generated a plethora of the so-called new authors, all competing for a piece

of the same pie. All wanting to make that very special and iconic building that

will forever change the skyline of wherever city. The Brits call them signature

buildings. There are four or ve names to whom everything is admissible,

e.g. Zaha, Nouvel , Herzog, Gehry, Foster , but , even in the Pritzkers,

PMB A internacionalizao obriga a uma estratgia e no esperamos

qualquer ajuda do Estado. Somos audazes, pacientes e entusiastas. Instalamo-

-nos e arriscamos. Crimos empresas em Moambique e no Qatar.

Temos uma parceria em Angola. Temos vrios projetos em construo no

Egito e na Federao Russa. Este o nosso universo mais recente

E estamos ou temos estado em muitos outros pases; principalmente no Mdio

Oriente e no Magreb. Mas no somos y-bys. Desagrada-nos a ideia de

aterrar num aeroporto, vender a um conceito de um centro comercial comumas torres de escritrios, um hotel, enm. Entregar uns desenhos, uns 3Ds,

cobrar 250 mil dlares, e apanhar o voo para o prximo stio. o grau zero

da prosso. Vender um papel ilustrado inconsequente, que parece estar mais

prximo da publicidade do que da arquitetura. No esta a nossa perspectiva.

A ambio do PROMONTORIO sempre a de desenvolver o projeto de

execuo e acompanhamento da obra at ao m. Por isso, para ns difcil

conciliar quatro ou cinco pases ao mesmo tempo em produo contnua.

Cada pas, cada comunidade exige uma proximidade com os clientes,

com os lugares, com a paisagem, as entidades H ainda aquela outrapara-realidade que a de os projetos serem feitos overnight na ndia ou nas

Filipinas, em subcontratao de atelis ingleses e americanos. A pergunta , se

as pessoas que l esto sabem realmente o que andam a fazer? Desengane-se

quem pensa que possvel ter uma bateria de gente a trabalhar na ndia ou na

China, e que conseguem produzir o que ns, europeus ou anglo-saxnicos,

produzimos. O trabalho de arquitetura incorpora uma combinao de

inteligncia, conhecimento e experincia. No transmissvel para algum

na convico de que mecanicamente pode resolver os problemas Mas h

muita gente a pensar que o arquiteto d a ideia a grande viso , e depois

tudo entregue ao mundo da produo. As oportunidades nos pases

emergentes geraro tambm uma exploso dos chamados novos autores, e que

concorrem todos para o mesmo tipo de trabalho. Todos querem fazer o edifcio

icnico e especial. O que os ingleses chamam: signature buildings, todos

querem um lugar ao sol. Cada vez mais, no mundo, h quatro ou cinco

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market recognition is far from unanimous.

I wonder if anyone is familiar with Glenn Murcutts the last project?

ARCHI This differentiation of principles, values, ways of being and

seeing architecture, which are your own, are they welcomed in this global

logic of not wanting to give it time?

JLFIn general I would say they are well received. Our attitude goes

through dialogue and the project communication is quite developed.

We present our ideas and our projects and explain why we work as we do,

because we believe that what deliver has a raison dtre. One has to help

build the criteria for the analysis and one needs to nd the rationale for the

programme its sustainability. Its important to go beyond the simple reply with

drawings. One must be a consultant. That is expected from architects and from

their experience. And we have the concern that our projects are not failed or

bankrupt enterprises.

ARCHI Education, the learning process of seeing and approaching the

work is essential. Are there architects bad architects? Are there bad clients?

PMB There is something of everything. But we believe that the customeris essential for the existence of projects. Mocking the client or referring to

him as someone who is outside initiated secrets of which the architects believe

themselves to be the guardians of and, therefore, dont know anything, is, at

the very least absurd. Firstly, because if the customer knew everything, he

wouldnt need the architect, secondly, because there is a certain personal

exposure and certain personal and commercial exchanges that require a

condence that should not be despised. The relationship between client and

architect must be marked by respect and loyalty.

JLFRespecting the customer is not some kind of bonhomie. We accept

the discussion with the client. Typically, the discussion does not worsen the

projects. But it is not the customer who tells us what we should do. The

customer places us new problems, which contradict what we felt to have be

nished and so he should, but the new syntheses are made by us.

ARCHI However, there are limits to compromise...

autores a quem tudo admissvel Zaha, Nouvel, Herzog, Gehry, Foster...,

mas, mesmo nos Pritzkers, o reconhecimento do mercado no transversal.

Pergunto se algum conhece o ltimo projeto de Glenn Murcutt?

ARCHI Esta diferenciao de princpios, valores, formas de estar e de ver

a arquitetura, que so os vossos, so bem acolhidos nesta lgica global de

no querer dar tempo ao tempo?

JLF De uma forma geral so bem acolhidos. A nossa atitude muito

dialogada e a comunicao dos projetos muito desenvolvida. Apresentamos

as nossas ideias e projetos, explicamos porque fazemos assim, porque

entendemos que aquilo que apresentamos tem uma razo de ser. preciso

ajudar a construir os critrios de anlise dos projetos, preciso encontrar

o racional do programa e da sustentabilidade dos projetos. importante ir

alm da simples resposta com desenhos. preciso ser consultor. Espera-se

isso dos arquitetos e da sua experincia. E ns temos a preocupao de que

os nossos projetos no sejam empreendimentos falhados e falidos.

ARCHI O ensino, a boa formao, o saber ver, essencial.

H arquitetos terica e visualmente mal formados? Tambm hmaus clientes?

PMB H de tudo. Mas entendemos que o cliente fundamental para haver

projetos. Ridicularizar o cliente ou referir-se a ele como algum que est

fora dos segredos iniciticos de que os arquitetos se julgam os guardies e,

por isso, no percebe nada, no mnimo absurdo. Primeiro porque se o cliente

soubesse no precisava do arquiteto, depois, porque h uma certa exposio

pessoal e trocas pessoais que requerem uma conana que importa no

desprezar. A relao entre cliente e arquiteto deve ser marcada pelo respeito

e a lealdade.

JLF Respeitar o cliente no uma espcie de bonomia. Ns aceitamos

a discusso com o cliente. Normalmente, a discusso no piora os projetos.

Mas no o cliente que nos diz o que devemos fazer. O cliente coloca-nos

novos problemas, que contrariam o que achvamos estar fechado e bem, mas

as novas snteses somos ns que as fazemos.

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ARCHI Mas h limites para a cedncia...

JLF Mas no h cedncia nenhuma. No estamos a ceder a nada.

Respondemos a um programa que s vezes vai evoluindo, at pela prpria

conscincia do cliente sobre o que pretende, mas somos ns que o fazemos.

Ningum fala em cedncias quando v uma Descida da Cruz de El Greco.

Mas, se visse o contrato que dois anos antes da entrega ele assinou, percebia

como muito do que l est e a prpria disposio das guras foi uma exigncia

da encomenda, alm do prazo.

ARCHI Mas h clientes difceis, que do imensa luta

JLF Isso muito bom quando acontece. Um bom entrevistador faz-nos

dizer coisas que provavelmente no tnhamos a inteno de dizer. O arquiteto

tem de pensar que tambm tem de ser provocado. O cliente no tem de fazer

o papel de morto frente do arquiteto. No podemos pensar que sabe o que

sabemos ou mais do que sabemos; ou que temos de nos subjugar a ele. Nada

disso. J nos aconteceu dizer: Eu isso no altero, mas acredite, vai ver que vai

resultar Esta conana do cliente s possvel se de facto houver clima e

se a relao for leal.PMB Para muitos arquitetos existe ainda a ideia mtica desse cliente

chamado Estado, que, como entidade abstrata e inimputvel, tudo permitia,

e a qualquer preo.

ARCHI Em termos de futuro, quais so as vossas expectativas?

PMB O ateli em Portugal uma espcie de centro agregador, mas

estamos a criar razes noutros stios, que vo aumentando por si prprios.

O nosso objectivo mais imediato consolidar a presena em regies onde j

estamos, principalmente no Mdio Oriente, Magreb e frica.

JLF Em Moambique, um cliente disse-me que comparava os arquitetos

aos mdicos, no sentido que so algum que gostava de ter prximo, para

conversar, para ajudar a pensar. O arquiteto, na sua funo, deseja-se

tambm uma pessoa prxima, com quem se trava intimidade, em quem se

cona, para aconselhar, para ajudar a avaliar e a analisar, na procura da

beleza, do bem-estar e do conforto.

JLFBut there is none. We are not giving in on anything.

We respond to a programme that sometimes evolves, even by the customers

own awareness about what he wants, but were the one who design the project.

Nobody talks about concessions when they see a Descent from the Cross by

El Greco. But, if someone were to see the contract that he had signed two years

before delivery, they would realize that much of what is there and the very

arrangement of the gures was a requirement of the client, in addition to the

deadline.

ARCHI But there are difcult clients. Clients that give an immense ght...

JLF Thats very good when it happens. A good interviewer makes us say

things that probably we didnt intend to say. The architect has to think that

he must also be provoked. The client doesnt have to play dead in front of the

architect. We cant think that he knows what we know or more than we know;

or that we have to subjugate ourselves to him. None of it. Weve had to say:

I wont change that, but believe me, youll see that it will work... This

condence of the client is only possible if there is, in fact, a good environment

and if the relationship is loyal.

PMBFor many architects there exists also this mythical entity of a client,

which is both abstract and untouchable, called The State, that allowed

everything at whatever cost.

ARCHI In terms of the future, what are your expectations?

PMB The rm in Portugal is a kind of base that harbours the main

production, but we are putting down roots elsewhere, which are growing by

themselves. Our immediate goal is to consolidate the presence in areas where

we already are, especially the Middle East, Maghreb and Africa.

JLFIn Mozambique, a client told us that he compared the architects to

medical doctors, in the sense that they where someone good to have around,

to talk, to help you think. The architect, in his metier, is truly a person to be

wanted, to be trusted; someone who assesses and advises mans search of

beauty, wellbeing and comfort.

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Fluvirio de Mora, AlentejoMora River Aquarium, Alentejo, Portugal

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Localizao Location Parque Ecolgico do Gameiro (Alentejo), Mora, PortugalEcological Wild Park of Gameiro (Alentejo region), Mora, Portugal

Cliente Client Cmara Municipal de Mora Municipality of MoraConstrutora Partner contractor Teixeira Duarte, SAConsultores Consultants Cosestudi (Museologia Museology),Henrique Cayatte (Design Grco Graphic Design),Pedro Salgado (Ilustrao Cientca Scientic Illustration), Anyforms (Animao Animation),Y-Dreams (Sistemas Multimdia Multimedia Systems)Programa Programme Concurso de conceo/construo de um uvirio Turnkey design-and-build river aquariumrea do terreno Plot area17 haABC GBA 3,000 m2

Investimento Estimated investmentEUR 6MCusto da obra Construction cost EUR 3,000 /m2

Data Project status 2004 (concurso, 1 prmio competition, 1st-prize ) 2006 (construdo built)

Parque Ecolgico do GameiroEcological Wild Park of Gameiro

Prtico Pitched shelter

Caixas programticas Progra m boxes

Espaos expositivos Exhibition spaces

Lago Lake

Piso tcnico Technical

The River Aquarium is located

in Mora, a small municipality

in the Northern Alentejo region.

Given the need to shift regional

development from the dependence of

an increasingly weaker agriculture

economy, into the environmental

tourism and leisure market, themunicipality launched a design-and-

build competition for an aquarium

that could somehow embody the

paradigms of biodiversity of the

Iberian river.

O projeto de um aqurio de rio ouuvirio em Mora resulta de umaestratgia de reposicionamento dodesenvolvimento regional do AltoAlentejo, mitigando a dependnciada cada vez mais deciente economiaagrcola, a favor do desenvolvimento

das reas do turismo e do lazer.A proposta, resultante do primeirolugar no concurso de conceo/construo, prope um aqurioque incorpora os paradigmas da

biodiversidade do rio ibrico,

combinando aspectos ldicos ede turismo com outros de carctercientco e de sensibilizao mdioambiental.

Integrado no Parque Ecolgico doGameiro, junto Ribeira de Raia, oedifcio surge isolado num campo de

sobreiros e oliveiras, como se de ummonte se tratasse.

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Piso tcnico Technical oorreas expositivas Live exhibits

Planta da cobertura Roof plan

Piso trreo Ground oor plan

Corte longitudinal Longitudinal section Corte transversal Cross section

Corte transversal / AquriosCross section / Live exhibits

Corte / Entrada e circuitoda exposio multimdiaCross section / Entrance and

multimedia exhibition circuit

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Fachada nascente East facade

Entrada EntrancePassadio Walkway Prtico Portico

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Integrated in the Ecological Wild

Park of Gameiro and bordering the

Raia stream, the building stands

amidst a secluded eld of cork and

olive trees removed from the more

intense leisure and shing activities

of the river. The plots gently

undulating topography forms a

basin at the conuence of two small

watercourses. Placing the aquarium

at the edge of this quasi-naturalretaining lake brought together the

fundamental relation between its

thematic contents and the presence of

fresh water.

Given the blazing Alentejo sun

and the need to create shade, the

building was devised as a compact

and monolithic volume with a

pitched shelter of thin white pre-cast

concrete porticos with single spans

of 33m, evoking the prole of thecanonical Alentejo whitewash barns

known as montes. The shading

and cross ventilation systems along

with the water circuits foster the

reduction of cooling energy, the

sustainable increase of humidity

and the wellbeing of animal and

plant life. Standing on a massive

concrete plinth with a built-in

stairway-cum-ramp entry, the pitched

shed veils a set of mute boxes that

contain the programme, namely;reception, ticketing and shop,

cafeteria, changing exhibits hall,

documentation centre, research and

education, live exhibits, multimedia

and a small auditorium. Inside, the

exhibition spaces tend to be dark, in

order to minimize UV impact on the

live exhibits and allow visitors an

in-depth viewing of the aquariums.

The outdoor void between these

programme boxes and the pitched

shed generates not only accelerated

viewpoints onto the outside but

also a promenade that culminates

in the passage through a bridge

over the lake which in itself is also

a live exhibit of animals and plants

collected and nurtured in the region.The live exhibits, the main feature

of an aquarium, reproduce, through

complex life support systems, the

habitat conditions of different

regions allowing to exhibit side-by-

side the various animals and plants.

On the basement, these support

systems guaranty stability of water

temperature, ph, quality control and

ltering for each habitat parameter,

including a duct gallery below eachexhibit to supply and monitor the

water

2012_ArchiNews24_PROMONTORIO

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