AMAG PT 01 DIOGO AGUIAR STUDIO online sample PREVIEW

1

DIOGO AGUIAR STUDIO

EU 24,90€

SPECIAL THANKS TO Adalgisa Castro Lopes Alcino Delgado Ana Assunção André Tavares Andreia Garcia António Amaral Ávila Sousa Claudia Ricciuti Daniel Mudrak Diogo Aguiar Filipa Delgado Sousa Hélder Gonçalves Javier Prado José Manuel Pedreirinho Konrad Profanter Laura Maifreni Laura Torchio Manuel Aires Mateus Miguel Carvalho Matteo Brioni Nuno Brandão da Costa Rita Leite de Castro Roberto Arias Rui Caldas Sofia Teodósio Paulo Lima

CURRENT TITLE AMAG PT 01 DIOGO AGUIAR STUDIO PUBLICATION DATE 2023 March COLLECTION AMAG MAGAZINE SERIES PORTUGUESE ARCHITECTURE RUN NUMBER 2000 numbered copies FREQUENCY Quarterly PAPER Arena White Smoth 140 / 350gr TYPEFACE Cordia New DIMENTIONS 240x320mm TYPE OF PRINTING Offset CMYK 4/4 ISBN 978-989-53960-1-8 ISSN I2182-472X ERC REGISTRATION 126 164 LEGAL DEPOSIT 377392/14 PRINTING LusoImpress EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ana Leal GENERAL MANAGER Filipa Figueiredo Ferreira EDITORIAL TEAM Ana Leal Filipa Figueiredo Ferreira João Soares Tomás Lobo TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS Original texts in EN were translated to PT

by AMAG PUBLISHER. Original texts in PT were translated to EN

by Clementine Dobbelaar.

Portuguese texts are not written under the Orthographic Agreement of 2009, unless indicated by the respective author.

OWNER AMAG editora LDA VAT NUMBER 513 818 367

PUBLISHED BY

AMAG PUBLISHER is an international publisher that carefully conceive, develop, and publishes books and objects directed related to architecture and design. Mainly in 3 different series: AMAG MAGAZINE, AMAG BOOKS and AMAG OBJETS, with a deeply conceptual approach, each collection represents a challenge and a new opportunity for the production of unique and significant books, meeting the highest quality standards and a differentiating design, absent from standard trends, representing significant values and content to inspire each reader and client.

AMAG MAGAZINE (AMAG) is published since December 2011 by AMAG PUBLISHER, as an INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE TECHNICAL MAGAZINE. Collectible and timeless, AMAG is recognized as rigorous and inspiring library archive, developed through a minimal and thought graphic design as a working tool to promote architecture that features as recognized practices around the world, as unknown, exquisite and unfading ones. From March 2023, AMAG is published with an upgraded brand image to reinforce the ageless and maturity character of AMAG, along with a new series exclusively dedicated to PORTUGUESE ARCHITECTURE (AMAG PT).

AMAG 29 BOLTSHAUSER ARCHITEKEN LILITT BOLLINGER STUDIO RAPHAEL ZUBER AMAG 28 CLANCY MOORE ARCHITECTS RYAN W. KENNIHAN ARCHITECTS STEVE LARKIN ARCHITECTS AMAG 27 DESCHENAUX ARCHITECTES FELIPPI WYSSEN MARAZZI REINHARDT AMAG 26 TOMOAKI UNO ARCHITECTS AMAG 25 AIRES MATEUS AMAG 24 MORQ AMAG 23 CARMODY GROARKE AMAG 22 VINCENT VAN DUYSEN AMAG 21 WESPI DE MEURON ROMEO AMAG 20 TONY FRETTON ARCHITECTS AMAG 19 TALLER HECTOR BARROSO ESTUDIO MACIAS PEREDO AMAG 18 ÁLVARO SIZA double issue AMAG 17 KÉRÉ ARCHITECTURE AMAG 16 ELEMENTAL AMAG 15 FRAN SILVESTRE AMAG 14 ADJAYE ASSOCIATES AMAG 13 BAST BUREAU ARCHITECTURES SANS TITRE GENS ASSOCIATION LIBÉRALE D’ARC AMAG 12 BAROZZI VEIGA ARCHITECTS AMAG 11 BECHTER ZAFFIGNANI INNAUER MATT BERNARDO BADER AMAG 10 COSTA LOPES AMAG 09 JONATHAN WOOLF SERGISON BATES AMAG 08 AIRES MATEUS PRIVATE WORK AMAG 07 BUCHNER BRÜNDLER ARCHITECTS FUHRIMANN HÄCHLER ARCHITECTS AMAG 06 AIRES MATEUS ALBERTO CAMPO BAEZA CARVALHO ARAÚJO EDUARDO SOUTO MOURA G ARQUITECTOS JEAN PIERRE PORCHER . MARGARIDA OLIVEIRA . ALBINO FREITAS MOUSSAFIR ARCHITECTS PHILLIPE MEYER STUDIO MK27 VALERIO OLGIATI AMAG 05 THAM & VIDEGARD JOHANNES NORLANDER IN PRAISE OF SHADOWS PETRA

AMAG 04 VINCENT VAN DUYSEN AMAG 03 SHINISH OGAWA BOW-BOW KATSUTOSHI SASAKI IKIMONO | DIG AMAG 02 WESPI DE MEURON ROMEO ARCHITECTS AMAG 01 AIRES MATEUS private work LONG BOOKS (LB) brings together a unique selection of projects that establish new paradigms in architecture. With a contemporary conceptual graphic language, the 1000 numbered copies of each title document works with different scales and formal contexts that extend the boundaries of architectural expression. Each title features one single work, from one single author.

LB 13 BRANDENBERGER KLOTER ARCHITECTS | school birrwil LB 12 BRANDENBERGER KLOTER ARCHITECTS | school aarwangen LB 11 BRANDENBERGER KLOTER ARCHITECTS | double kindergarten rüti LB 10 BRANDENBERGER KLOTER ARCHITECTS | school pfeffingen LB 09 BRANDENBERGER KLOTER ARCHITECTS | culture hall laufenburg LB 08 DAVID ADJAYE 130 William LB 07 DAVID ADJAYE Winter Park Library & Events Center LB 06 ANDRÉ CAMPOS | JOANA MENDES | PEDRO GUEDES DE OLIVEIRA fábrica em barcelos LB 05 ANDRÉ CAMPOS | JOANA MENDES centro coordenador de transportes LB 04 CARVALHO ARAÚJO casa na caniçada LB 03 DAVID ADJAYE the webster LB 02 NICHOLAS BURNS chapel and meditation room LB 01 DAVID ADJAYE mole house POCKET BOOKS (PB) is an assemblage of small publications which compile theoretical texts by various architects or institutions in different collections. These writings reflect different areas of interest and performance in the architectural discourse.

PB 03 NOTES ON ARCHITECTURE | BUILDING AROUND ARCHITECTURE FRANCESCO VENEZIA OUTSIDE THE MAINSTREAM PB 02 FORM, STRUCTURE, SPACE NOTES ON THE LUIGI MORETTI’S ARCHITECTURAL THEORY PB 01 EDUARDO SOUTO DE MOURA LEARNING FROM HISTORY, DESIGNING INTO HISTORY AMAG OBJECTS (AO) is a timeless series of products carefully crafted and tailed in limited series fromW architects who collaborate with AMAG PUBLISHER. Limited collections of objects produced with handmade technics and high-quality materials, to reify and distinguish ways of thinking about the project, between objects, photographs, and hand drawings.

AMA | CASA EM CORUCHE AMA | CASA NO TEMPO AMA | CASA EM MONSARAZ AMA | CABANAS NO RIO HB | CASA CAÑADA HB | CASA TUCAN HB | AM8 HB | ENTRE PINOS HB | CABO SPORT COMPLEX VVD | CASA M by Ricardo Labougle VVD | BA RESIDENCE by Hélène Binet VVD | TR RESIDENCE by Koen Van Damme SUBSCRIPTIONS AND SPECIAL ORDERS onlineorders@amagpublisher.com

WALLS AND CEILINGS Vieroquartz Primer and Marmorin Hydro Finish

Pa.te.os | Melides Architecture AIRES MATEUS Image FRANCISCO NOGUEIRA

DIOGO AGUIAR STUDIO

STRUCTURAL SPACE

is an international publishing house that conceptualises, develops and carefully publishes books and products related to architecture and design, principally in 3 different lines of works: MAGAZINE, BOOKS and OBJECTS.

is an INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE technical magazine, in print since December 2011, published

by AMAG PUBLISHER.

AMAG PUBLISHER

With a deeply conceptual approach, each project represents a challenge and a new opportunity to produce unique and meaningful work that meets the highest standards of quality and features a distinctive graphic design, away from industry trends, representing meaningful values and content in order to challenge, satisfy and above all, inspire each and every reader and client.

As an architectural publisher, we acknowledge that our work has the obligation to divulge and promote architecture not only through our magazine and books, but also, and simultaneously, through complementary activities and initiatives that are associated with it.

AMAG MAGAZINE

From March 2023, a further enhanced brand image will be launched to reinforce AMAG’s ageless and mature character, together with a new SERIES, exclusively Collectible and timeless, dedicated to PORTUGUESE it is recognised as a rigorous ARCHITECTURE. and inspiring bibliographic archive. It is crafted through During 2023, both series, minimal and thoughtful AMAG (an international graphic design, as a working architecture technical tool to promote architecture, magazine) and AMAG PT featuring not only globally (a Portuguese architecture renowned practices, technical magazine), will but also unknown, select be launched quarterly and and unsung ones. concomitantly.

02

01

AMAG INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE TECHNICAL MAGAZINE

30

AMAG INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE TECHNICAL MAGAZINE

03

30

AMAG INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE TECHNICAL MAGAZINE

04

30

AMAG PORTUGUESE ARCHITECTURE TECHNICAL MAGAZINE

01

01 AMAG 30 COVER 01 ATELJÉ Ö | JOHANSEN SKOVSTED | NORRØN 02 AMAG 30 COVER 02 ATELJÉ Ö | JOHANSEN SKOVSTED | NORRØN 03 AMAG 30 COVER 03 ATELJÉ Ö | JOHANSEN SKOVSTED | NORRØN 04 AMAG PT 01 DIOGO AGUIAR STUDIO

WWW.AMAGPUBLISHER.COM

97

WALLS AND CEILINGS Vieroquartz Primer and Marmorin Hydro Finish

Pa.te.os | Melides Architecture AIRES MATEUS Image FRANCISCO NOGUEIRA

ARCHITECTURE AIRES MATEUS JJ TEIXEIRA WORK RESIDENTIAL SPACES PHOTO COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR JOÃO GUIMARÃES

JJ TEIXEIRA RUA SÃO MARTINHO, 397 4415-758 OLIVAL,VILA NOVA DE GAIA, PORTUGAL T. + 351 227 878 400 E. GERAL@JJTEIXEIRA.PT W. WWW. JJTEIXEIRA.PT

BESPOKE WINDOW FRAMES, CARPENTRY AND JOINERY IN WOOD.

Antigo Convento de Subserra Apartado 57 2601-906 Castanheira do Ribatejo

T. +351 263 285 150 E. acatedral@acatedral.pt W. www.acatedral.pt

Casa Âncora, São Roque do Pico, Açores. SAMI-arquitectos . Inês Vieira da Silva . Miguel Vieira . Fotografia: Paulo Catrica

01

INDEX

THOUGHTS FROM THE EDITOR

by Ana Leal TO FINISH AND TO CONCLUDE, IS ALSO A START

by José Manuel Pedreirinho INDUSTRY, PLEASURE AND TRANSFORMATION

by André Tavares

DIOGO, DRIVING THROUGH THE EXPERIENCE 03 by Nuno Brandão Costa

11

05 TOWER BETWEEN TOWERS GARDEN ART PAVILION PAVILION HOUSE BLUE CIRCLE 07 HOUSE OVER THE HILLS

15 23 33 47 57

FIVE PATIOS FOR ONE HOUSE STRUCTURAL SPACE

69 79

CREDITS

91

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ana Leal is the co-founder and editorin-chief of AMAG magazine and AMAG publisher since 2011.

She graduated in architecture in Porto, Portugal and has been dedicating her professional journey to editorial projects on the topic of architecture since 2006.

Ana Leal was also the co-founder of DARCO magazine in 2006 and AICO Architecture International Congress at Oporto in 2010 and 2018.

03

BY ANA LEAL

THOUGHTS FROM THE EDITOR

AMAG magazine has dedicated its pages to being a technical record of architecture of an international nature, striving to represent meaningful values, capable of persisting in time and thus forming rigorous and relevant documentation. Developed through a graphic language that is refined and free from conventional trends, it is able to illustrate and translate consistent practices that generate relationships of honesty and well-being, whether material or immaterial, between construction, the different building systems and their materials, or the individual, nature and society.

transversality and versatility, in which geometric design, conceptual and formal freedom and the use of indepth knowledge of construction, allow it to find consistent, rigorous and relevant answers, which we believe are free of stereotypical patterns, and that will last in time.

Whether they are of a temporary nature and destined for public use, like the Garden Art Pavilion, of a permanent nature and destined for private use like the House Over The Hills, or destined for public use and on a larger scale, as in the Structural Space.

A revista AMAG tem-se dedicado a um registo técnico de arquitectura This edition, the first of a new de carácter internacional, que series exclusively dedicated to procura representar valores Portuguese architecture, represents significativos, capazes de perdurar the transversal growth of the AMAG no tempo e constituir documentos collection, with which we intend rigorosos e de referência. to contribute by making public Desenvolvida através de uma Portuguese architectural practices linguagem gráfica depurada e in which we see unequivocal value ausente de tendências padrão, and in which we recognise our hábil em ilustrar e traduzir práticas values, such as the work of consistentes e geradoras de Diogo Aguiar Studio. relações honestas e de bemestar, sejam estas de carácter Work that stands out for and material ou imaterial, entre o is characterised by an honest construir, os sistemas construtivos

e os respectivos materiais, ou os indivíduos, a natureza e a sociedade.

Esta edição, a primeira de uma nova serie exclusivamente dedicada à publicação de arquitectura portuguesa, representa o crescimento transversal da colecção AMAG, com a qual se pretende contribuir através da publicação de práticas Portuguesas, nas quais reconhecemos um valor inequívoco e nas quais revemos os nossos valores, tal como acontece no trabalho de Diogo Aguiar Studio.

Um trabalho que se distingue e caracteriza por uma transversalidade e versatilidade honesta, no qual o desenho geométrico, a liberdade conceptual e formal, e o recurso a um profundo conhecimento construtivo, lhe permite encontrar respostas consistentes, rigorosas e de referência, que acreditamos também livres de tendências padronizadas, e que perdurarão no tempo. Sejam estas de carácter efémero e uso público, como no Garden Art Pavilion, permanente e de uso privado como na House Over The Hills, ou de grande escala e uso industrial como no Structural Space.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

José Manuel Pedreirinho, architect, graduated from the Lisbon School of Fine Arts (ESBAL) in 1976 and has a PhD from the Architecture Faculty of the University of Seville (2012).

He has been working independently since 1980 and has also been a professor since 1985, teaching in Porto, as well taking on the role of director at Coimbra’s University School of Arts (EUAC) from 1990 to 2014. Since 1979 he has contributed to several newspapers and publications, and has authored several books on topics concerning the “History of Portuguese Architecture of the 20th Century”.

From January 2017 to 2020, José Manuel Pedreirinho was President of the Portuguese Association of Architects and of the Iberian Docomomo Foundation, as well as a member of the Executive Committee of the Architects’ Council of Europe (2018-2020). He is currently VicePresident of the International Council of Portuguese-Speaking Architects (CIALP).

05

BY JOSÉ MANUEL PEDREIRINHO

TO FINISH AND TO CONCLUDE, IS ALSO A START

In a text that, perhaps because of its subject matter, remained unpublished until his death, Italo Calvino said up until the moment preceding the one at which we start (...), we have the world at our disposal - that which for each one of us constitutes the world, a combinatoria of information, of experiences, of values - the world given to us en bloc, without a before and an after, the world as an individual memory and as an implicit potentiality.

who, in the rightful choice of the arbitrariness of any beginning, complement memories and forgotten elements of their schooling with the constraints of a reality in perpetual and rapid change, whose outcome is only sealed in the re-establishment of a continuity with universal history.

Sabemos o que pretendemos, sabemos do seu valor e do interesse na sua divulgação, mas também sabemos que muito do que pretendemos publicar, ainda não foi feito, está também, só agora a começar.

É, por isso, o abrir de uma porta ao desconhecido, o separar da In his writing, Calvino also multiplicidade dos possíveis os approaches the act of ending and meios adequados para exprimir o completing, but today the theme que queremos. is starting. É o que pretendemos fazer ao divulgar trabalhos de arquitectos I believe this is the best way to Num texto que, talvez pelo seu que, na legitima escolha da refer to this publication about tema, permaneceu inédito até à arbitrariedade de qualquer início, Portuguese architects. sua morte, Italo Calvino afirmava complementam memórias e até ao momento anterior àquele We know what we are aiming em que começamos (…), temos esquecimentos da sua formação com as condicionantes de uma for, we are aware of its value and à nossa disposição o mundo realidade em permanente e rápida the importance of its divulgation, – o que para cada um de nós but we also know that much of constitui o mundo, uma soma de mudança, cujo final só what we intend to publish has informações, de experiências, de se encerra no restabelecimento not yet been made, and is only valores – o mundo dado em bloco, de uma continuidade com a just beginning. It is, therefore, the sem um antes nem um depois, o história universal. opening of a door to the unknown, mundo como memória individual e No seu texto, Calvino aborda the separating [the adequate como potencialidade implícita. também o acabar e concluir, mas means to express what we want] hoje o tema é começar. from the multiplicity of possibilities. Julgo ser esta a melhor forma de referir esta publicação sobre * All quotations by I. Calvino are from the book “Six Memos for the Next Millennium”, published by Teorema, 1990 This is what we intend to do by arquitectos portugueses. * Todas as citações de I. Calvino são do livro “seis propostas promoting works by architects para o próximo milénio”, editorial Teorema, 1990

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

André Tavares is an architect with a PhD from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, where he is currently a researcher.

He was general curator of the Lisbon Architecture Triennale, he is coordinator of Dafne Editora and programmer of the architecture exhibitions at Garagem Sul at Centro Cultural de Belém, in Lisbon, where he curated the exhibition The Young New, featuring the work of Diogo Aguiar Studio among five young Portuguese practices.

07

BY ANDRÉ TAVARES

INDUSTRY, PLEASURE AND TRANSFORMATION

What drives an architect? When facing the corpus of Diogo Aguiar’s work, the answer seems obvious: to build. His last project to date, a winery in the sensitive landscape of the Algarve, combines an adventurous structural system with the industrial apparatus of wine making, allowing concrete, wood and brick to define a seductive atmosphere. While wine connoisseurs can delight their palates with the nuances of local production, the architecture explicitly recalls its own building process: the cruciform columns holding the concrete and wood beams, the brick playing games of transparency, a modular logic generating the best economic ratio between investment and outcome. There is an innate playfulness in his work, geometry functioning as a tool to produce inventive forms and unexpected perspectives, giving a joy in the experience of space.

One could argue that his method results from the many pavilions used as ephemeral architecture to activate public spaces. But

his built works, such as the House Over the Hills, suggest the contrary. Wood is not standard in the Portuguese building industry, yet it is deployed to create a domestic atmosphere, while the design aims to meet production rationale. The driving force is not one of standardization to maximize production, but the transformation of industry to make building a less destructive exercise. Beyond ephemeral activity, his work develops types of experimentation through building, construction and transformation.

part of this movement, becoming from 2010 to 2015 one of the founders of LIKEarchitects, who benefited from the growth of social media to bring awareness to their practice. Nevertheless, their proposals were more cheerful than combative, or festive instead of cloaking themselves in the benevolence of some of their peers’ proposals.

The work that follows, portrayed in this publication, demonstrates where such research lead: the pavilions are still part of a process to untangle alternative practices and formulate constructional logic – building experiments that can Many of Aguiar’s generation be upscaled and transported into embraced the social tradition the conventions of architectural of architecture and engaged in practice. While doing so, both community programmes, his practice and his building thereby combining disciplinary methods are transformed, and in knowledge with social causes. most of the projects the design At the beginning of the new is freed of the lifestyle trends that millennium, with the support of afflict too much contemporary museums and political actors, architecture. Through addressing the field of architecture expanded fundamental design problems into new avenues of action. (such as how to build in wood Building became a matter of instead of the conventional “small is beautiful” and the scale Portuguese standard of of design diminished to punctual concrete-brick), finding solutions but effective locations. Aguiar was to technical challenges

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nuno Brandão Costa, architect and Diogo Aguiar’s teacher at FAUP’s Project Curricular Unit 4 in the 2005/2006 academic year.

Curator in a co-authorship with Sérgio Mah, of the official Portuguese representation at the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2018, under the title “Public without Rhetoric”, having selected the Serralves pavilion by Diogo Aguiar to be part of the pieces on display at the event.

11

BY NUNO BRANDÃO COSTA

DIOGO, DRIVING THE EXPERIENCE

Diogo Aguiar is part of a new and impressive generation of architects trained at FAUP and born in the 1980s, dedicating themselves to the practice of architecture and whose academic background only becomes apparent in the question of the methodological coherence of the project (the project method): a fact that highlights the intelligence of the criterion, since it is the sole feature that distinguishes the aforementioned education from others, which are varied and virtually uncountable. Just as for some of their generational peers (Ana Luísa Soares and Filipe Magalhães (Fala), Nuno Melo Sousa, Samuel Gonçalves (Summary), and the late Teresa Otto (LIKEarchitects and Ottotto)), the question of precedents, manner and style does not arise, neither does ideological contamination in the disciplinary accomplishments.

A certain irreverent pragmatism can be detected in all of them, rooted in the highly unfavourable context in which their daring and courageous careers began (ending up in Portugal at the

time of the Troika, returning respect for original works and a from pivotal academic and disregard for their maintenance), professional experiences in which drives so many (perhaps central Europe, Asia or America). the majority) of architects away We find a rigorous spatial from Architecture. In the case of optimisation of each building and the aforementioned architects, an unrestrained relationship, or optimism, fulfilment and perhaps even liaison, between happiness are embedded in the architectural autonomy and daily practice of the project. contemporary artistic disciplines, namely drawing, installation and In Diogo’s particular case, his sculpture. Independently of the architectural relationship and language each of them adopts, choice stand out, through the the idiosyncrasy and premature object of the project being maturity of their projects defined, permanent and also derives from an austere repeatedly finding itself within conceptual narrowness that is, to a concrete descriptive triad, say the least, surprising, given the lying between what is physical current variety in references and and what is sensory in virtue. the permeability to which many Since these two extremes are architects perpetually succumb: not independent of one another, the pressure of ideologicalthey instead establish an political emergencies; the difficulty unpredictable communicating and harshness of the profession vessel, which stabilises the itself in our country ( a culture of logic of the experimentalist pitiful remuneration, promoted by process of architecture. Context, the state; substandard working Strategy and Experience are conditions; a never-ending the terms that obsessively and excess of bureaucratic demands; repeatedly describe all of his the cultural shortcomings and projects and work, without educational backwardness of exception, regardless of scale, our society; conservatism and programme or place. A firm institutional mistrust, a lack of and solid conceptual triad is

15

2017

TOWER BETWEEN TOWERS Porto, Portugal

CONTEXT The Tower Between Towers is an abstract, geometric, spatial and material exercise that aims to create a new meeting point and, temporarily, signal the place of action in the city, in the context of the celebration of the local festivities of São João.

STRATEGY Designed for the scenic viewpoint area of Oporto’s historic zone, next to the original city walls, the Tower between towers intends to add another tower to the once medieval urban fabric, emphasising the density of construction and underlining the presence of an instantly recognisable typology in the area: houses that overlap vertically, bordering the city walls, constituting small residential towers; the towers of Porto’s Sé Cathedral,thfrom the Romanesque period, in the 12 century; theth medieval tower-house, rebuilt in the 20 century under the coordination of Rogério de Azevedo; the towers of the São Lourenço dos Grilos church, from th the 16 century, in the baroque mannerist style; and the Torre dos 24, a project by Fernando Távora, which is a contemporary reinterpretation of a pre-existing tower, the first centre of municipal power, destroyed by a fire at the end of the 19th century.

While the towers in the surrounding context are civic and spiritual symbols of the city, the Tower between towers takes on artistic and symbolic meanings, seeking above all to programmatically (re)define a public space and to revive its importance in the eyes of the local community, through the creation of a chimney-pipe as a symbol and main stage of its annual traditions.

EXPERIENCE In opposition to the solid and parallelepiped presence of the surrounding towers, which are for the most part built in granite and have a square base, the new, ephemeral, tower is ethereal and cylindrical and, instead of being defined by its mass, is defined by delicate lines (wireframe), promoted by a slender, metallic materiality.

Seeking to blend in with its surroundings, but simultaneously standing as a totem protruding from its territory, the tower describes a construction concept that defies gravity and expresses its dematerialisation in its contact with the ground. In this way, the structure of the tower is formed by five branches which, following precise geometrical rules, become shorter and denser, and therefore visually heavier as they get closer to the sky, contradicting the structural logic and evoking the idea of levitation.

Empty in order to serve as a central stage for the centuries-old tradition of releasing paper lanterns into the sky on the night of São João, the chimney tower was erected in what is thought to be the only year that the lanterns were forbidden, thereby enduring as a memorial to an event that ended up never taking place.

DIOGO AGUIAR STUDIO

CONTEXTO A Torre entre torres é um exercício abstracto, geométrico, espacial e material que pretende criar um novo ponto de encontro e assinalar, temporariamente, o espaço da acção na cidade, no contexto da celebração das festividades locais de São João.

ESTRATÉGIA Concebida para o espaço de miradouro na zona histórica do Porto, junto à primitiva muralha da cidade, a Torre entre torres, propõe acrescentar uma outra torre ao tecido urbano outrora medieval, enfatizando a densidade construída e sublinhando a presença desta tipologia facilmente reconhecível naquele local: o casario que se sobrepõe verticalmente, junto à muralha, constituindo pequenas torres habitacionais; as torres da Catedral da Sé do Porto, da época românica, no séc. XII; a casa-torre medieval, reerguida no séc. XX, sobre a coordenação de Rogério de Azevedo; as torres da igreja de São Lourenço dos Grilos séc. XVI, ao estilo maneirista barroco; e a Torre dos 24, projecto de Fernando Távora, que é uma reinterpretação contemporânea de uma torre pré-existente, primeira sede do poder municipal e destruída por um incêndio em finais do séc. XIX. Se as torres do contexto constituem símbolos civis e espirituais da cidade, a Torre entre as torres assume significados artísticos e simbólicos, procurando sobretudo a (re)definição programática de um espaço público e resgatar a sua importância para os colectivos locais, pela criação de uma conduta-chaminé como símbolo e palco principal dos seus costumes anuais.

0

10

50

EXPERIÊNCIA Em oposição à presença maciça e paralelepipédica das torres envolventes, na sua maioria construídas em granito e a partir de base quadrangular, a nova torre, efémera, é etérea e cilíndrica e, em vez de ser definida pela massa, é definida por linhas delicadas (estrutura de arame), favorecidas por uma materialidade esbelta e metálica.

Procurando fundir-se com o contexto, mas assumindo-se simultaneamente como um totem proeminente no território, a torre descreve um conceito construtivo que desafia a gravidade e exprime a sua desmaterialização no encontro com o solo.

Assim, a estrutura da torre estabelece-se em cinco tramos que, respondendo a precisas regras geométricas, se vão assumindo mais curtos e densos, e, por isso, visualmente mais pesados, à medida que se aproximam do céu, contrariando a lógica estrutural e remetendo para a ideia de levitação.

Vazia para servir de palco central à tradição centenária da libertação de balões de papel na noite de São João, a torre-chaminé foi erguida no único ano em que há memória que a libertação foi proibida, resistindo, portanto, como um memorial a um acontecimento que afinal não teve lugar.

SITE PLAN

TOWER BETWEEN TOWERS

17

DIOGO AGUIAR STUDIO

0

1

5

TOWER BETWEEN TOWERS

PLAN

19

DIOGO AGUIAR STUDIO

ELEVATION

0

1

5

23

2016 - 2017

GARDEN ART PAVILION Porto, Portugal

CONTEXT The Garden Pavilion is a small museological structure created to host the film “ The Artificial Humors” (2016)

by Gabriel Abrantes, and is part of a set of five temporary pavilions built in the context of the exhibition “ndLive Uncertainty: an exhibition from the 32 São Paulo Biennial”, in Serralves Park, as a result of a competition by invitation offered to select young architects by the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, in Porto.

STRATEGY The discovery of the pavilion in the garden is achieved in three distinct moments in time: the identification of a habitable and cylindrical space in Clareira das Azinheiras, a transitional path in tension and in the open air, and the place of projection, covered and obscured.

The cylindrical spatiality emphasises the centrality of the work on display, which takes on a crucial importance in the geometrical design of the space.

The circular movement is reinforced by the lack of a main entrance in favour of the creation of a second, external façade, permeable from three points that subdivide the entrance to the pavilion along its circumference, enhancing different accesses and relationships with the Serralves garden.

The design of the spatial structure is thus developed from a clear and precise geometry that, starting from the construction of two concentric circular planes, creates two spaces with distinct geometries, atmospheres and functions: the interstitial space and the central space.

EXPERIENCE From the outside, the pavilion features an abstract shell, a continuous façade across its curved surface, built by four layers of vertical wooden planks. Natural light shapes its body, in a cascade of shades that reinforces its volume and reveals planes at different depths. When hit by the sun’s rays, the structure projects itself upon itself, causing shadows to move across the central façade, creating different designs throughout the day.

Contributing to the control of natural light in the interior space, the juxtaposition of curved and parallel planes that alternate in the revealing of openings, which are also curved, guides the visitor through the intermediary space without revealing the central nucleus from the outside.

The absence of doors seeks to free the circulation of visitors as they take in the exhibition pavilion, as a space in continuity with the garden, where the “outside” is already “architecture” and the “inside” is still “outside”.

The space constricts and compresses, while revealing the constructive skeleton as a tectonic façade, facing the inner space.

An immersive area is created, in which the visitor becomes aware of the act of entering through his desire to discover a space that is not immediately perceptible when approaching the architectural object.

This space “in between”, the antechamberpathway, induces the visitor’s awareness of his body within the architectural space of the pavilion and, at the same time, creates a sense of disorientation relative to the outside world. Therefore, the circular geometry of this potentially infinite route helps the visitor in its process of

greater abstraction and prepares him for the enjoyment of the work on display, in an environment that is related to it both materially and sensorially.

DIOGO AGUIAR STUDIO

DETAIL A

06.

0

07.

08.

1

0.25

09.

01.

10.

02.

01.

DETAIL B

02.

11.

03.

02.

04.

DETAIL

05.

29

GARDEN ART PAVILION

06.

08.

07.

09.

01.

10.

02.

DETAIL A

02.

11.

DETAIL B

01. Wood schingles, pine wood, approximately 788 x 150 mm 02. Horizontal timber beam, pine wood, 140 x 50 mm 03. Vertical timber beam, pine wood, 140 x 50 mm 04. Pine bark pavement 05. Support timber post, pine wood, 140 x 70 mm 06. Stainless steel tape banding 20 mm

07. Timber beam, pine wood, 70 x 70 mm 08. Wooden deck with pendant, pine wood, 20 mm 09. Aluminium roofing membrane 10. Timber beam, pine wood, 220 x 70 mm 11. Bent timber beam, pine wood, 140 x 50 mm (double curved) 12. Nail joint

DIOGO AGUIAR STUDIO

NORTH ELEVATION

0

1

5

33

2016 - 2019

PAVILION HOUSE Guimarães, Portugal

CONTEXT Built on top of a pre-existing granite building that is part of a family winery used for (non-commercial) wine production, the Pavilion House is a weekend retreat, a refuge to welcome guests in, located in a space of transition between the vineyards and the forest, where man-made land meets the wilderness.

Its strategic position on the land allows it to attain a superior and unobstructed view over the horizon, but also to assume a scenographic role within the site, favouring new spatial narratives and new symbolic qualities, namely through the proposed dialogue between the new and the existing, expressed in its architectural features.

By taking advantage of its programmatic (in) definition to create an open and abstract multifunctional space, at once an interior space and an outdoor one, the Pavilion House promotes a more intense relationship with the surrounding environment, benefiting from its proximity to nature.

various possible domestic activities, whether simultaneous or not, allows for the greatest economy of resources.

Seeking a greater integration within the natural context - by simulating an idea of continuity through its fifth façade and assuming a greater ecological and sustainable responsibility, the Pavilion House features a roof with autochthonous vegetation.

EXPERIENCE A pavilion house is simultaneously a living space and an abstract space; an indoor space and an outdoor space; an inhabited and flexible space and an empty and austere space, a rational and optimised space and an emotional and sensorial space.

The four wall-volumes that define the central area and the framing of the views explore the idea of the limits of architecture, establishing themselves as inhabited places.

The façades of these volumes, internal STRATEGY and external, are continuous, abstract and Configured as a hut, a small habitable textured, and present a stereotomy defined space in the mountain, Pavilion House by a continuous strip of vertical slats of seeks to maximise its versatility and spatial the same wood, seeking, on one hand, simultaneity: a set of four wall-volumes define integration with the landscape and, on the the living space and determine the views other, introspective comfort. over the surrounding landscape while at the same time concealing the basic ‘programme’ The ceiling and floor of this pavilion house - sleeping, sitting, eating and bathing outline and compress these wooden allowing it to be partially put to use wall-volumes, in a dark palette that turns when required. them into non-existent matter, helping to bring the outside world back into view and The condensing/compacting of the emphasising its shifting presence in the preliminary programme in far fewer square interior space. meters than what would be expected, makes minimum-space the most sustainable idea of PROJECT CO-AUTHORED WITH the project, since the superimposition of the ANDREIA GARCIA / ARCHITECTURAL AFFAIRS

0

37

5

1

DETAIL A

B

A

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

SECTION A

0

1

5

SECTION B

DIOGO AGUIAR STUDIO

0

0.25

1

41

PAVILION HOUSE

DETAIL A

08.

01.

03.

05.

06. 07.

02.

01.

09.

10.

04.

11.

01. Exterior vertical cladding in Thermowood with 42 x 42 mm Ventilated gap with rafters and battens to fix the facade Breathable monolithic membrane for exterior use Chipboard panel, 22 mm Thermal insulation, rockwool 120 mm Timber structure, 100 x 50 mm Chipboard panel, 22 mm Vapour control membrane Interior vertical cladding in Thermowood with 120 x 20 mm

02. Interior vertical cladding in Thermowood with 42 x 42 mm Interior vertical cladding in Thermowood with 42 x 42 mm Vapour control membrane Chipboard panel, 22 mm Pocket, coated aluminium double glazed window frame Chipboard panel, 22 mm Vapour control membrane Chipboard panel, 22 mm Gap with battens to fix the interior cladding Interior vertical cladding in Thermowood with 120 x 20 mm

03. Pivot hinge fixed in floor and ceiling 04. Interior vertical cladding in Thermowood with 42 x 42 mm 05. Chipboard panel for pivoting door structure, 22 mm 06. Main timber structure for the pivoting door, 120 x 50 07. Interior vertical cladding in Thermowood with 120 x 20 mm 08. Shower fixture 09. Pocket, coated aluminium double glazed window frame 10. Coated metallic grid flooring 20 x 10 mm with 5 mm spacing 11. Pivoting, coated aluminium double glazed window frame

10.

DIOGO AGUIAR STUDIO

0

0.05

01.

03.

07.

02.

10.

09.

08

04.

05.

DETAIL C

06.

01. Vegetation substrate, 60 mm Geotextile Fine gravel layer, 30 mm Rigid Drainage Layer, 20 mm Bituminous membrane Sandwich panel, 80 mm Metallic roof structure, HEB 120 Additional thermal insulation, sprayed polyurethane foam, approx. 50mm Interior Plasterboard ceiling 02. Metallic structure L 200 x 100 mm 03. Metallic structure HEB 200 04. Metallic structure to support metallic basin 05. Metallic basin for drainage of the rain water 06. PVC tube for drainage of the rain water 07. Motorised blackout embedded in the plasterboard ceiling 08. Coated aluminum window frames with double glass 09. Coated metallic grid flooring 20 x 10 mm with 5 mm spacing 10. Epoxy flooring - SIKA P287 Screed with floor heating system, 60 mm Underfloor heating insulation boards with cavities for heating tubes 30 - 60 mm Vapour control membrane Sanded cement screed, 30 mm Thermal insulation, extruded polistyrene, 80 mm Bituminous membrane

0.25

47

2020 - 2021

BLUE CIRCLE Porto, Portugal

CONTEXT The original brief suggested the creation of a sculptural monument celebrating the 100th anniversary of ADICO, a local family business of great importance to the surrounding economy and employment, and the locations that were initially suggested for its location foreshadowed the creation of a contemplative object.

STRATEGY The conceptual strategy is simultaneously based on the (re)location and (re)framing of the “monument” as an opportunity for spatial fruition, and on the possibility of elevating an everyday object to a work of art, as referenced in Marcel Duchamp’s Dadaism.

Foreseeing the seasonal flooding of the area in harsher winter times, and paying homage to Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, the bottom 2 metres of this permanent park installation were designed in stainless steel, whereafter the iron chairs are slotted in and secured by rivets.

When partially submerged, the structure is reflected in the water, generating an abstract, symmetrical geometry. Impossible to access, the work temporarily becomes a sculptural (or kaleidoscopic) object.

EXPERIENCE More than just a contemplative object, the piece is a place of contemplation of the surrounding landscape, in solitude or collectively, but also of socialising, shaping an assembly-like space where the exchange of stories, a concert or a performance can take place in an intimate, protected circle.

(Re)Located in the leafy Municipal Park of Antuã, the Círculo Azul is a monumentpavilion that is designed to be interacted with by the public and was created by reinterpreting the traditional Portuguese chair, designed and produced by ADICO since More than a simple circumference, which the 1920s. describes a curved and closed line, the design is in fact seeking to create a circle, The artistic and spatial intervention explores given that it is only complete when it is the dematerialisation of the well-known chair filled, by people, inside. by its repetition, through 40 geometrically positioned units, forming a design in the In this way, the celebration of the 100 years shape of a circular void, and simultaneously of existence of the local company ADICO constituting the material formalisation is symbolised by the creation of a work of a space occupied by structures that of public art, which also becomes a new encourage the park’s visitors to explore it. public space in the city of Estarreja.

Painted in Klein blue, the chairs occupy a place of prominence, not only by virtue of their higher status as works of art, but also by reason of their elevation within the grounds, affording those who climb its access stairs a privileged view of the surrounding landscape.

DIOGO AGUIAR STUDIO

0

0.05

01.

02.

06.

DETAIL A

01. Powder coated steel chair ADICO 5008 02. Powder coated stainless steel tube, Ø 25 mm 03. Powder coated stainless steel tube welded to main fixing tube, Ø 25 mm 04. Main fixing stainless steel tube, Ø 32 mm 05. Reinforce concrete footing, 300 x 200 mm 06. Ω shaped stainless steel sheet, fixed with two stainless steel bolts 07. Neoprene mediation patch 08. Stainless steel tube connector Ø 20 mm 09. Stainless steel rivet

0.25

53

BLUE CIRCLE

01.

01.

09.

02.

08.

02.

02.

03.

06. 07.

DETAIL B

04.

05.

2018-2023

HOUSE OVER THE HILLS Paredes, Portugal

CONTEXT The House over the hills is a single-family home built in the Serras do Porto.

EXPERIENCE From the outside, the altimetric level at which the house is implemented is the level that guarantees the desired framing It is a modular construction, in wood, facing of the view of the landscape and, also, towards the southwest and seeking to the level that allows the roof to be visible emulate the mountains that are visible in the from the path that gives access to it - thus distance, by means of a game of geometrical favouring the integration of the house’s composition involving identical volumes with volumetry within the surrounding landscape planes that slope in different directions. and showcasing multiple possible arrangements in the natural landscape and The architectural programme, which the built “landscape”. was initially based on a three bedroom residence comprised of five modules, also Inside, openings to the outside are found at foresees three more independent modules, different heights and in different directions, in with direct access from the outside an effort to establish varied relationships with reserved for two separate bedrooms and the context. At different times of the day, they a family room -, aiming for programmatic invite the sunlight to cast its rays over the flexibility over time. interior space, projecting the shadow of the surrounding trees onto the indoor surfaces of the home and thereby producing live STRATEGY paintings of varying brightness.

The rigorous geometry that rules the floor plan as well as the elevations of the building gives rise to distinct interior spatialities - allowing different volumetric combinations and the exploration of different materialities - that establish different relationships with the surrounding context - variations on the same, that allow the architectural exercise to be similar without ever repeating itself.

The play of back and forth between the modular volumes is thereby both the opportunity for: the creation of exterior spaces - or patios - that are more closely related to the different adjoining interior spaces; as well as for the introduction of new possibilities in the exploration of the internal spatial relationships, namely through the sloping ceilings.

57

DIOGO AGUIAR STUDIO

0

possibilidades na exploração das relações CONTEXTO espaciais internas, nomeadamente através A Casa sobre as montanhas é uma habitação unifamiliar construída nas Serras dos tectos inclinados. do Porto.

Trata-se uma construção modular, em madeira, que se vira para sudoeste e que procura imitar formalmente as montanhas que avista ao longe, a partir de um jogo de composição geométrica de volumes iguais com planos inclinados em diferentes direcções.

O programa arquitectónico, que se estabelece inicialmente numa habitação com três quartos composta em cinco módulos, prevê também três módulos mais independentes, com acesso directo desde o exterior - reservado para dois quartos autónomos e uma sala polivalente -, apostando na flexibilidade programática ao longo do tempo.

ESTRATÉGIA A geometria rigorosa, que controla o desenho em planta e também o dos alçados do edificado, dá origem a espacialidades distintas no interior – permitindo diferentes combinações volumétricas e a exploração de distintas materialidades – que estabelecem relações diferenciadas com o contexto circundante – variações sobre o mesmo, que permitem que o exercício arquitectónico seja semelhante sem nunca se repetir.

O jogo de avanços e recuos dos volumes modulares é, assim, a oportunidade simultânea para: a criação de espaços exteriores – ou pátios – mais dedicados aos diferentes espaços interiores que lhe são contíguos; e para a introdução de novas

EXPERIÊNCIA Desde o exterior, o nível altimétrico em que a casa é implementada é aquele que garante o enquadramento desejado da paisagem e, ao mesmo tempo, aquele que permite a leitura da sua própria cobertura a partir do caminho que lhe dá acesso - favorecendo assim a integração da volumetria da habitação na paisagem circundante e ensaiando múltiplas composições de enquadramentos possíveis entre a paisagem natural e a “paisagem” construída.

No interior, diferenciam-se vão abertos ao exterior a diferentes cotas e em diferentes direcções, procurando variadas relações com o contexto. Estes convidam, a diferentes horas do dia, a luz solar a varrer o espaço interior, projectando nas superfícies interiores da habitação a sombra das árvores circundantes e, assim, produzindo quadros vivos de intensidade lumínica variável.

10

50

HOUSE OVER THE HILLS

59

SITE PLAN

SOUTH ELEVATION

1

61

5

C

0

B

A

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

SECTION A

DIOGO AGUIAR STUDIO

01.

02.

03.

04.

05.

11.

05.

04.

10.

14.

12.

07.

13.

08.

09.

DETAIL

HOUSE OVER THE HILLS

0

0.25

1

01. Zinc roofing with standing seams Draining membrane Breathable monolithic membrane for exterior use Chipboard panel, 22 mm Additional thermal insulation, rockwool, 80mm Chipboard panel, 22 mm Thermal insulation Timber structure 200 x 100 mm Chipboard panel, 22 mm Vapour control membrane Interior Plasterboard ceiling 02. Exterior vertical cladding in Thermowood, 140 x 20 mm 03. Solid mahogany wood board, 30 mm 04. Seal band tape 05. Solid wood double glazed window 06. Waterproofing profile with high mechanical resistance 07. Corten profile 08. Rigid Drainage Layer with geotextile, 20 mm 09. Reinforced concrete footing

10. Wooden flooring in solid pine wood, 20 mm Acustic membrane Screed with floor heating system, 50 mm Underfloor heating insulation boards with cavities for heating tubes 30-60 mm Bituminous membrane Lightened concrete slab, 200 mm Air chamber with ventilated sanitary space 11. Exterior vertical cladding in Thermowood with 70 x 20 mm Ventilated gap with rafters and battens to fix the facade Breathable monolithic membrane for exterior use Chipboard panel, 22 mm Thermal insulation, rockwool 100 mm Timber structure, 100 x 60 mm Chipboard panel, 22 mm Vapour control membrane Interior vertical cladding in Pine wood with 120 x 20 mm 12. Thermal insulation and protection, extruded polystyrene, 30 mm 13. Liquid-Applied Membrane 14. Starting timber structure, 100 x 100 mm

image © Vitor Puig

91

DIOGO AGUIAR STUDIO

TOWER BETWEEN TOWERS project: 2017 location: Miradouro da Rua das Aldas, Porto, Portugal gross built area: 8 m2 team: Diogo Aguiar, Daniel Mudrák engineering: Rui Nuno Salgueiro images © Francisco Nogueira client: Porto Lazer / Câmara Municipal do Porto

FIVE PATIOS FOR ONE HOUSE project: 2022 - under construction location: Gulpilhares, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal gross built area: 250 m2 team: Diogo Aguiar, Daniel Mudrák, Adalgisa Castro Lopes, Jorge Otaegi, João Teixeira, Liam Romo engineering: Pedro Castanheira images © DAStudio client: Private

GARDEN ART PAVILION project: 2016 - 2017 location: Parque de Serralves, Porto, Portugal gross built area: 75 m2 team: Diogo Aguiar, Daniel Mudrák engineering: Rui Nuno Salgueiro images © Francisco Nogueira client: Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves

STRUCTURAL SPACE project: 2022 - under construction location: Alvor, Portimão, Portugal gross built area: 1000 m2 team: Diogo Aguiar, Daniel Mudrák, Adalgisa Castro Lopes, Jorge Otaegi, Claudia Ricciuti, Marta Bednarczyk engineering: NCREP images © DAStudio client: Villa Alvor / Aveleda S.A.

PAVILION HOUSE project: 2016 - 2019 location: Guimarães, Portugal gross built area: 85m2 team: Andreia Garcia, Diogo Aguiar, Daniel Mudrák engineering: Rui Nuno Salgueiro images © Fernando Guerra client: Private BLUE CIRCLE project: 2021 location: Parque Municipal do Antuã, Estarreja, Portugal gross built area: 75m2 team: Diogo Aguiar, Daniel Mudrák, Tomáš Pevný engineering: ADICO images © Fernando Guerra client: Mistaker Maker / C. M. Estarreja HOUSE OVER THE HILLS project: 2018 - 2023 location: Aguiar de Sousa, Paredes, Portugal gross built area: 200 m2 team: Diogo Aguiar, Daniel Mudrák, Adrian López, Carolina Fiuza engineering: Rui Nuno Salgueiro images © Valentina Vagena client: Private

CURRENT TEAM Diogo Aguiar, Daniel Mudrák, Adalgisa Castro Lopes, João Teixeira, Claudia Ricciuti, Liam Romo, Marta Bednarczyk, Aiala Bastero, Mario Basurko.

PAST COLLABORATORS Matyáš Rehák, Jorge Otaegi, Ana Perez, Laura Teso, Silvestru Cania, Adam Bieniek, Karina Dikova, Tomáš Pevný, Dominika Widlarz, Andrea Molinari, Alicia Cano, Sergio González, Elena Bredariol, Vassil Vandov, Christos Gyftopoulos, Adamantia Nika, Carolina Fiuza, Irati Quintano, Yaiza Cristóbal, Jan Lebl, Nikolay Boboshevski, João Oliveira Brito, Adrian López, Lúcia Torre, Rafael Morais.

SPECIAL THANKS The strength to restart and to believe, I owe to Andreia, with whom I have the true pleasure of collaborating and continuously learning - assiduously.

To Daniel I also retribute the endless confidence and the tireless courage to believe in the next step.

To Adalgisa I must thank the daily reinforcement of consistency.

To Claudia I appreciate the effort dedicated to this publication.

And of course, thank you, Ana, for trusting and supporting us until the very deadline.

And to Claudia, Astrid, Sandra, Carla, Chantal, António, Martim, Manuel, Paula, Lara, João, Nelo, André, Nuno and so many others, I thank the enthusiasm with which they have always accompanied our work. Let there be more.

PORTUGAL PVP 24,90€ PRICE WILL VARY PER COUNTRY

DIOGO AGUIAR STUDIO

Diogo Aguiar Studio (DAS) is a Portuguese architecture studio that was established in Porto, in 2016.

The studio operates across the fields of Art and Architecture, designing small buildings and interiors, as well as temporary or fixed spatial installations destined for the public space, with the belief that a dual practice informs and boosts the work undertaken, as a speculative and spatial investigation.

Its interests lie in the material and sensorial exploration of immersive architectural or artistic spaces, whether archetypal or readymade, through geometric, abstract and elementary compositions, which present themselves as formal systems aware of the simultaneous experience of (a space’s) fullness and (a space’s) emptiness, seeking to reclaim the relevance of the shaping of space in Architecture.

With a strong geometric, volumetric and material identity, the collection of projects built by the studio is thus a synthesis of dichotomous relationships that balance the conceptual development of the projects, namely: between natural space and built space; between the new and the existing; between interior and exterior; between light and shadow; between rationality and emotion; between ethereal and material; between abstract and concrete; between repetition and innovation; between the unified and the whole.

In recent years, the practice has been awarded several nominations for international prizes, namely: Prémis FAD 2018, BigMat Prize 2019, Europe 40 under 40 Prize, Mies van der Rohe Prize 2022, among others.

Recently, Diogo Aguiar Studio was selected as one of the 25 global practices in ArchDaily’s New Practices of 2023.

Diogo Aguiar has been an architect since graduating from the Faculty of Architecture of Porto (FAUP) in 2008.

At the beginning of his professional career, he became two-time winner of the ArchDaily Building of The Year award, in the 2010 and 2012 editions, and was considered by the same website to be one of the Young Talents of Portuguese Architecture.

Diogo Aguiar was co-founder of LIKEarchitects from 2010 to 2015, and founded Diogo Aguiar Studio in 2016.

As of 2016, he is the commissioner of Concreta, the country’s main construction fair - where he seeks to build bridges between Architecture and Manufacturing -, as well as co-founder, alongside Andreia Garcia, of Galeria de Arquitectura, in Porto, an independent space in which to think Architecture.

In 2020, he was a visiting professor at ISCTE-IUL and, since 2021, he has been a visiting professor at FAUP, where he teaches Project I. In 2023, Diogo Aguiar is assistant curator of Fertile Futures, the 18th Portuguese Representation at the International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, curated by Andreia Garcia.

Daniel Mudrák holds a Masters in Architecture from the Slovak University of Technology since 2014 and worked as an Architect at LIKEarchitects between 2014 and 2015. He joined Diogo Aguiar Studio, from day one, in 2016.

WITH THE SPECIAL CONTRIBUTION FROM LUSOIMPRESS