SPACE January 2026 (No. 698)
Three semi-circular cuts within an endless plot, a consistent duality: part empty, part baroque.
Within the extensive sloping plot, three semi-circular buildings are placed, each assuming a different relationship with the existing terrain. The three structures vary in size (S, M, and L) depending on the programme. One is a private house, another is a shared house, and the third is a generous event hall, ready to accommodate any kind of activity. The curved wall of each semi-circle serves as a retaining wall, while the straight one is purposed as a big window facing toward the landscape. The three buildings are part of the same system, in terms of intentions, metrics, and materiality. Each figure is cut with a diagonal wall that separates the public and the private. Each cut is different. The space behind each diagonal wall is a cutout of an existing house built in 1976 by Frank Gehry, Ito Toyo, or Álvaro Siza. When solving the plan for the project, the idea of a complex, baroque-like space, as the opposite of the big void, only made sense as a reference from elsewhere. The borrowed plans are copy-pasted and then, adhering to the project’s material palette and forming a new relationship, present a dialogue with the existing framework.
©Lera Samovich
The three buildings are fully assembled out of surfaces, a logic that gives each element a distinct expression. The perimeter curved wall is concrete painted white, the diagonal cut is concrete painted dark blue, almost black, the ceiling is left as exposed concrete, covered by a dense grid of Minase lamps. The straight wall has been fully glazed and protected with a tilted canopy of metal mesh panels. The only punctual elements in the project – round concrete columns – are cherished and celebrated. They mark the threshold between the vast landscape and the generous living area. The thick column is painted in blue with white horizontal stripes, and then multiplied and reflected in the window.
The systematic logic finds its way into smaller elements, like doors, kitchens and scattered furniture, where experimentation with colour is undertaken. The fluorescent yellow proves to be acceptable to a domestic setup. The three objects are activated and populated with these. The visitor would perhaps take a moment to understand which building is it, S, M, or L. The three semi-circles disappear within the landscape. The only visible parts are windows and bright blue chimneys. Found granite stones were used as elements structuring the land around the project, suggesting areas to sit, stand, gather, or escape. Ironically, the entire site was excavated to be make the three buildings disappear into the landscape.
fala (Filipe Magalhães, Ana Luisa Soares, Ahm
Joana Sendas, João Carlos Lopes, Dolma Garcia
Sobral de Monte Agraço, Portugal
collective compound
15,000m²
500m²
2
5m
3%
RC
aluminium window, metal cap
plastered wall, painted exposed concrete wall, ter
Marcio Pimenta
Novos Constructores Lda
2022 – 2024
2023 – 2024
850,000 EUR
