The presence of two architectural elements on the upper elevation highlights the construction: To the north, a volume in silvered glass houses the garage and the entrance hall of the house. To the south, resting on the angle of the ground floor façade, a white, opaque, low, square box-shaped volume protects and forms a porch area that extends the living space to the exterior.

These two elements, contrasting in terms of geometry and materials, rest on different parts of the garden which fills the entire plot, and reorganise the relationship of the land and its exisiting structures (stone walls, neighbouring buildings) with the landscape.

The absence of a visible construction, enhanced by the reflection of the mirrored body which punctuates the plot’s geometrical centre, contrasts with the generosity of the interior spaces which are discovered as one climbs down, revealing a typologically recognisable house.

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The five facets are addressed as a gang of elevations. each has a character of its own but they share apparent similarities. A grid of black dots attempts to make sense of the concrete structures and defines the figure of the facades.

Reoccurring pairs of windows, yellow doors, green shutters and surfaces of glass brick correspond to intricate rooms, devise tense compositions and charismatic personas. the former warehouse is a house of many faces.

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Progressing into the interior of the building, the spaces begin to fit together, enclosing themselves to the surroundings, between environments and spaces that invite silence and introspection. Central to the spatial organization – the atrium/waiting room – functions as a lounge space, but also as a distribution area between the public program (restrooms, kitchenette, and chapels) and the service program (storage, technical areas, and area dedicated to the worship leader).

In the chapels, the light traverses the space differently throughout the day, every day of the year. The door-opening system and the proposed furniture allow for the maximum number of seated users and, with the union of the two chapels, differentiated ceremonies.

Just as in local vernacular constructions, it can be asserted that the new building will always be a consequence of the place, seeking to activate and promote, in parallel, the small local economies through the use of the existing stone on-site, wood, and the use of white color in contrast to schist, in order to preserve the collective constructive memory, contributing to the maintenance of the construction culture of Alentejo and, specifically, of Barrancos, allowing the new building to “be built with the landscape.”

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At the rear, a staircase running parallel to the party wall was all that remained from the original structure. Aside from it, only the stone walls and a timber frame — floor and roof — existed, both in relatively good condition. The staircase was fragile, yet its odd placement served as a cue. Because it was precarious, it was replaced. The other elements were kept and revalued through the new design. The existing timbers were painted, allowing for maintenance with subtle replacements and ensuring a continuous reading across the space. Very little was added. On the lower level, a few light partition walls outline the new rooms, each of similar size. Above, a compact infrastructural core conceals the home’s technical utilities. The existing roof truss now rests on a new, robust timber beam, enabling the opening of a high-set window overlooking the garden. A light wooden terrace ensures a seamless connection between spaces.

The execution drawings were minimal. The spatial arrangement was preserved, but the slow and close collaboration with the builders allowed for a series of improvised moments that would have never been foreseeable in the original design. Outside, one finds an exposed cork façade, three octagonal concrete columns poured using salvaged formwork, a concrete water tank, and a mirrored wall reflecting the beautiful garden designed with pomo landscapes. Like the project itself, the house is pragmatic and honest. A kind of primitive urban hut, conceived as a holiday home yet meant to be lived in all year round.

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The rehabilitation project involved transforming the workshop into a restaurant, taking advantage of its last commercial licence as a tavern. The existing upper floor was extended, creating a covered outdoor terrace area and a toilet and service area. The ground floor houses the kitchen and a lounge that opens directly onto the outside.

The large openings on the upper floor without casements frame fragments of the façades of the buildings surrounding the covered terrace.

In order to accommodate the complementary programs, it was proposed to extend the house to the west, following the implantation suggested by the ruins of existing additions. Thus, a first extension volume (B) is proposed, which extends the existing house with the same height and constructive characteristics, and which forms the hinge for a lower and expanded volume (C), positioned at the level of the threshing floor, in direct relationship with the landscape, housing the collective programs and the cuisine of the tourist unit. This construction was installed in the direction of the contours of the natural terrain and, in terms of its architectural language, performs a contemporary interpretation of the materiality of the pre-existing construction. The new volume was built with exposed concrete exterior walls, a marseille tile roof, and wooden exterior window frames.

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The project is located next to the main vehicular access to the complex and serves as both a vehicle garage and a residence for the estate’s caretaker. The terrain’s topography allows for a building with two facades, one on each of its floors; on the ground floor, there is a garage behind large gates that fully open to the access road, and on the first floor, a residence completely open to the opposite side, seeking views of the vineyards and a south-facing orientation. There is no internal communication between the two levels, which function as two separate elements protected under a single roof.

The existing building was constructed against a neighboring structure that is no longer part of the estate, and the new project disconnects from it by creating a pedestrian access between the two volumes, establishing itself as an independent piece within the constellation of architectures that populate the estate.

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The site, Square Pontaut Combault, portrays an urban void, with different confrontations: the urban fabric to the east, the empty market to the south and the Minho riverfront to the west. We intend for the proposed building to relate them through its location, form or programmatic organization. The public’s interest is captured by its homogeneous, rational and serene form, as well as by the materialization of color and light. With a paralelepipedal volume, with straight lines, the volume appears surrounded by a rigid structure of pillars, thus composing an external gallery of “protection” for users.

All this rigidity represents for us the strength that a public building must have in the mesh, which, in turn, is broken by the movement created by the games of light/dark and light/shadow. This movement gives us different perspectives on volume throughout the day.

The entire volume is made of concrete. Resistant, with a “strength”, functional or “cold” character, it is contrasted by the Molianos stone cladding, yellow, noble and “warm” on the base. It is thus, on the scale of man and materials, that the project embraces the nobility and reference of a village as picturesque as Caminha.

In the union of form, function, scale and materialization we reconcile a set of premises for relationships with the environment and the individual. We do not turn our backs on the waterfront, we care about the fair’s relationship and ensure that the entrance is directed to the village, as is the case. We conclude that the more technical area should be related to a new square created to the north, a square that frees the market from the neighboring building, as well as opening the horizon to existing equipment in the urban fabric.

Given the current lack of this interior-exterior relationship, the relationship between the volume and the surroundings, we designed a simple volume with transparent planes that invite the user to enter or, when inside, to enjoy the view. It is the scale of man, at ground level that the transparent elements allow us to glimpse the function and life inside the volume from the outside. It is these moments that project natural lighting into the interior and create visual relationships with the two surrounding realities, namely the town and the riverbank of the Minho River.

The interior of the building is covered with washable and waterproof epoxy paint up to the height of the openings (two and a half meters) on all interior walls, allowing for effective hygiene. This visual line created by the exchange of materials is evident throughout the volume, both outside and inside, thus creating a feeling of elegance and lightness.

The interior space is organized into three sections: one to the south with shops with exterior and interior access and sanitary facilities, a central public area – fish and fruit market -, and a technical and restricted area to the north. The northern, technical section is made up of changing rooms, an area with (individual) cold rooms, administrative space and an outdoor space for waste. The latter, physically separated from the others, is accessible via an independent route. It is an act isolated from all loading and unloading moments or access to the building.

The staff space creates the hinge between public and private. The changing rooms, as well as the cold storage rooms, have autonomous routes and exits, without any intersection with the circulation of the general public. Administration is related to the sales space.
To the south, the front elevation is made up of four autonomous commercial spaces, but all with direct access to the interior of the market and common sanitary facilities. Here, there is the possibility of closing commercial spaces’ access to the market depending on each person’s schedule.

The central space, the market, is the space and use that dignifies the volume. A large space, with high ceilings and a “monumental” scale, is deeply bathed in natural light and views of the transparent planes of the elevations. This is where the primary act of the program unfolds. This is the meeting point for users. By being flooded with natural light, varied by the position of the sun throughout the day, an emotional and dynamic scenario typical of the market image and experience is created.

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On one side three steps separate us from the bedroom corridor, where the long bench and the relics scattered across the walls set a quiet mood. On the opposite end, a door hides a large open space divided in two levels mediated by a long wooden cabinet, an ambiguous limit that contains the spaces whilst also letting them flow. The fresh plaster hides the new infrastructure and covers the pre-existing openings, creating a strong contrast with the intense stone texture of the ancient walls, making both the scars and the new intervention even more visible. In the upper level, the living room, punctuated by the fireplace is overtaken by the framed landscape, as it leans over the dining room and the kitchen.

Next to it, a wide terrace looks over the landscape and the concrete stairs lead us down the hill inviting us to take a closer look. In this lower semi buried level, three individual accesses lead us to the workshop, the multipurpose room and the technical area.

Whilst the South and West facades mediate a more contained relation with the street and the village, the exposed openings to the North create a subtle dialogue with the view and the land. Along the white calid walls the openings shape an order built upon arrythmias, following premises of experimentation and plasticity, setting the score to which we can hear and experiment this house.

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