Architizer A+Awards 2021
Our project of a Rural House in Portugal has also won a Special Mention in the prestigious Architizer A+Awards 2021, in the Architecture + Renovation Category.
Dezeen Awards 2020 - Public Vote winner
Our project of a Rural House in portugal won the Public vote in the category " Residential rebirth " in the Dezeen Awards 2020
Loop Design Awards - Honorable Mention
Our project " Rural House in Portugal " won an Honorable Mention at the first edition of the Loop Design Awards, in the Architecture Renovations Category.
Dezeen Awards 2020 - Shortlisted
We are thrilled to announce that our project Rural House in Portugal has made it to the shortlist of the 2020 Dezeen Awards. It is a huge honour to be shortlisted for these prestigious awards.
How the pandemic situation changed the architectural market
The pandemic scenario in which we have been living has brought profound changes in the way we relate to the surrounding space, whether public or private.
The rules of social distancing and the various modalities of confinement, legal or voluntary, h
Interesting times
‘May you live in interesting times’This phrase, often repeated, is supposedly a translation of an ancient Chinese curse (although there is no actual record that is so, according to the research I did). Its meaning is ambivalent. If it&rsq
Conception and accomplishment
Architects are addicted. Addicted to draw. Addicted to watch things they conceived to be built. It's an indescribable feeling to see appear out of nowhere and take shape a building that we designed.Some say it " should be similar to having a so
Sketching
Most people ask me, as I assume happens with my fellow architects, if I still use to sketch, or even if I still know how to sketch.
This question has probably to do with the determining importance of computers in our daily lives and the widespread i
Interview of Henrique Barros-Gomes to 'Empresas +' from Público Newspaper
Choices
How much of what we do in life is a deliberate choice, and how much comes from a random sequence of events?
This thought come to my mind following a delusional conversation I had with my youngest daughter a few weeks ago.
We were talking about an e
Investing in times of crisis
In times of crisis you may not be able to invest in a new home but you should always invest in the one you already have.Probably the change of house you wished for so long is now hopelessly delayed. Banks are hampering credit and times advise for pru
Beyond the "Wow factor"
The term " Wow factor " was first used to refer to the intrinsic qualities of each person, that make him rise, and become unique and different from the others. In a given person can refer to obvious leadership skills, in another to unusual abilitie
The Frankenstein-House
One of the worst nightmares an architect can have (although honestly the lack of work usually supplants this kind of trouble) occurs when a customer asks for a Frankenstein-house.This situation is characterized by the wish that the house we are about
From Howard Roark to Steve Jobs
There's a book that all architects should read called " The Fountainhead " , written in 1943 by American Novelist Ayn Rand. The book gave birth, a few years later, to the famous film by King Vidor, in which Gary Cooper played the leading role.T
From sketch to construction
In my last post I started a series of writings about sketches and their role in architectural design.Today I looked into how an idea resulting from a necessarily exploratory sketch process is constructively materialized. I present a series of case st
The decisive moment
I'm an ardent user of the computer and its possibilities, but even in those projects in which computer is used from the start, I always go back to the good old paper for the quick and expressive exploratory sketch. Yes, because, contrary to what
Why I love what I do
Since childhood I wanted to be an architect. I had the usual route, endless hours playing with Lego, a taste for drawing, often sketching house plans, imaginary palaces, spaceships, completely implausible vehicles, reinterpretations of the spaces I s
Controversies and unanimity
Half a dozen years ago a building I designed had just opened, and was the focus of attention of one of the biggest " opinion makers " of my country, Miguel Sousa Tavares, in his weekly opinion column in the " Expresso " , one of the main Portugues
We can only step at the white stripes
A few days ago I was coming from the park with my youngest daughter and as we pass through a walkway, she looked at me with a mocking smile and said, " Dad, we can only step on the white stripes! " I confess that I was delighted and immediately tran
Tigers, whales and some other animals
Nowadays we live with a far superior level of comfort than that of our ancestors. And the truth is that human ingenuity keeps inventing, on a daily basis, new solutions that ease our everyday lives and increase our comfort zone.The facility with whic
My dream house, part II
A few weeks ago I wrote a text describing how it would be my dream home in Lisbon. I also thought at the time to write some lines about how my out of town dream house, as one might say, my retreat, would be.It would ideally be on a site with personal
God is in the details
Much has been writen on this aphorism I've seen to be attributed to several authors, from the predictable Mies, to Einstein or to Renaissance’s Michelangelo. It is also discussed if this will be the original sentence or, rather, if it&rsqu
My kind of holidays
Holidays are a time for travel. We all have done our memorable trips, which are as a reminder of good times, sometimes of external or interior discoveries. Some of these memories are marked for life.
Whenever I can, I make a trip to a different plac
My dream house
My dream house in the city I live is right in its center.
Centrally located, it will be decentered in relation to the busiest streets. The house will also have some space around it. It may perhaps be located in a small square or plaza. It will be po
Why is an architect needed?
Most people, throughout life, go to a doctor whenever they have a health problem. And when they have legal problems naturally turn to an attorney. They do not think about cost savings, or in regarding alternative hypotheses, because they consider tha
A matter of perspective
A few years ago I showed my older son a videoclip of the song 'All I Need' by Radiohead. I always loved the music of this band and when I saw the clip, which I find very beautiful, I thought he would like to see it. Student and practitioner