Collective established by a duo of architects from different cultures, yet sharing the same vision of artistic expression through the lens of spatial work, encompassing elements of land art, installations, and micro-architectures. Joana and Vincent are committed to challenging the concepts of ephemerality and circularity through a practice focused on participation, reuse and revitalization of unused spaces.
Through their research, projects, and engaged installations, this initiative aims to reshape our perception of spatial dynamics, moving towards a more circular and sustainable system, enabling city dwellers to understand and harness all potential available resources.
"O muro," or "the wall" in Portuguese, encapsulates the fundamental essence of architecture, exploring notions of materiality, boundary, and scale. It incorporates numerous metaphors within the collective imagination: an insurmountable barrier, a canvas for expression, and also, when breached, a gateway to freedom.
Rooted in their physical, cultural, and historical context, the installations crafted by the collective narrate and unveil the spaces they inhabit, always placing visitors at the core of their experiences.
+351 968 050 663
Rua da Industria 87 rdd 1300-304 Lisboa (PT) contact.muroatelier@gmail.com
Joana Tomas (Portuguese and French, 1989)
Raised in France by Portuguese parents, she has always navigated between two cultures that shaped her unique identity. Throughout her academic journey, she demonstrated a keen interest in engaging in participatory and self-construction projects, actively collaborating in various collective initiatives and multinational workshops. After several years working in architectural studios in Paris and subsequently overseeing various projects in France, she decided to return to Portugal. Now residing in Lisbon, she continues to travel, finding a sense of home in each place where she designs her installations
Vincent Rault (French, 1990)
After working as an architect in various french studios, he decided to move to Lisbon to further develop his artistic and architectural practices.
Through this shift, he explored new ways of working, ranging from urban agriculture to self-construction, always emphasizing a dynamic sharing of knowledge and collaboration with various stakeholders. Since then, he has been involved in several associative and collective initiatives in Lisbon, including social and educational gardens, participatory projects, and the co-creation of ephemeral cultural spaces.
Muro Atelier works around 3 thematics :
+ REUSE
Through diagnosis and deconstruction, the collective wants to create a new practice, considering construction waste as a resource. The main objective is to analyze, deconstruct, stock, prepare and then reintroduce used construction materials into new projects, making our urban landscapes more sustainable. This practice is not only about construction : the objective is also to create a sector with new non-delocalizable jobs.
+ REVALORIZE
With these same used materials, Muro Atelier creates ephemeral, participative and self-constructed urban art installation, to question our public space and increase citizen interaction with art, architecture, circularity and construction. Those urban installations tend to mark a collaborative presence in the city, telling different stories that interpret a spatial, cultural and social context.
+ REACTIVATE
Waste is not only material. Our initiative temporarily occupies unused buildings to turn them into ephemeral cultural centers and open them to the public. It helps create a global community in a city that is everyday more gentrified. Through an association called NA ESQUINA, the collective co-created two of these experimentation centers, and one is currently his shared workspace for impact projects and artist residencies. With these experimentations, Muro Atelier wants to desacralize construction, art and architecture, and empower people to build their own city, through inclusivity and circularity.
// Kintsugi - Jardins du monde en Mouvement - Cité Internationale Universitaire- Paris (FR)
// O.R.N.I. Objetos Rolantes Não Identificados - LEPAC / ZET Gallery - Bairro da tabaqueira, Sintra (PT)
// Aguas correntes - Premio Arte e sustentabilidade- Zet gallery / DST group - Barcelos (PT)
// Sabão - Afurada Living Lab / GAIURB - Vila Nova de Gaia (PT)
// Na Esquina Principe Real et Moscavide - Lisbon (PT)
// Os Capelinhos - Loures( PT)
// Loading Love Temple - DADDARA - BOOM Festival Idanha-a-Nova (PT)
// Edificios como bancos de materiais, GAIURB, Vila Nova de Gaia (PT)
// Forecast take over of Trienal de arquitetura - Lisbon ( PT)
// Écume - Festival Parenteuf, Etang de Marelle, Chassy (FR)
// Luar - Sever do Vouga ( PT)
// MANU - Granollers (ES)
// Bloom in Blue - Arras (FR)
// L'échappée verte - Ypres (BE)
// Lavomatique - Landivisiau (FR)
// Mandala Moon - Paris (FR)
// Beauté locale - Montpellier (FR)
// Gardinus - Vimieiro (PT)
SABÃO
Direct commission - Ephemeral art installation in public space
São Pedro de Afurada, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, October 2023 - March 2024
Participatory installation using repurposed washhouses, transitional urbanism, and artist residency 10m in diameter, 2m high
Through a consultancy mission focused on reusing construction materials for GAIURB (Vila nova de Gaia), we stumbled upon a hidden treasure: hundreds of abandoned washing tanks tucked away in a warehouse.
Driven by the aim to promote circular economy and inspired by the Afurada Living Lab, the collective decided to create an ephemeral artwork, a tribute to washbasins and the iconic clotheslines of the neighborhood, breathing life into the market square for four months.
However, Sabão isn't merely a lifeless framework.
It serves as the stage for the interwoven voices of the many communities that shape the soul of this city.
Each layer, every touch, and brush stroke will be the vibrant and fleeting expression of a people.
A tapestry in constant evolution, where each contribution becomes an indelible part of Afurada's history and identity.
KINTSUGI
Winning project - Ephemeral art installation in public space
Jardins du monde en mouvement, Cité Internationale Universitaire, Paris, France, April 2024
Cork blocks, reused broom handles, brass, tree trunk, steel, paint
10 m length, 8 m width, 2.5 m height
The concept of this installation is rooted in a Japanese craft technique: Kintsugi. Literally meaning "golden joinery", it involves repairing broken ceramics with tree sap tinted with gold.
It is the art of resilience, an ode to imperfections, that enhances an object by highlighting its scars. Applied on the scale of a tree, this craft becomes, through the artwork, a proposal for reflection on regeneration.
Developing around a tree in the park, the work mimics, in plan, the patterns of scars or cracks in the ground left by the roots of the living being, as if the central tree became the impact point of the fracture. The project extrudes the roots, transforming them into a temporary architecture that reveals the invisible connections of the tree to its environment.
CACO
Winning project - Ephemeral art installation in public space
Fractal Funchal, Torre do capitão, Funchal, Madère, Portugal, Septembre 2024
4 volcanic stones sculptures
4 x 1 to 2 m height by 1 m à 2 m diameter
Composed of mineral waste, the installation **Caco** is located within the **Torre do Capitão**, the oldest surviving piece of civil architecture on the island of Madeira.
The concept of “caco” has two dimensions: one material, represented by the "bolo do caco" (a traditional bread), and the other linked to the meaning of the word itself, which refers to fragments. We created makeshift braziers from salvaged materials, transforming the ordinary into something special and the discarded into something valuable.
The brazier, usually simple, is elevated here to an artistic and functional level. Each piece, with minimal elements, becomes a meeting point, providing warmth and light, evoking the tradition of gathering around the fire to share bread and stories.
The aim was also to engage in a dialogue with the space, as a form of contemporary archaeology, highlighting the heritage of the Torre do Capitão.
To bring it to life, a series of culinary and artistic activities were organized with a school group.
RUINES MIRAGES
Winning project - Permanent art installation in public space
A ciel ouvert, Riorges, France, June 2024
Ribbed bars, marble stones
4m length 2m width, 2m height
Amidst the stones that line the Renaison River, there is a structure that appears to be in ruins: Upon closer inspection, one can see stones floating. Ruins Mirage is an installation that involves creating a structure whose proportions are inspired by a built form. The project's composition aims to dematerialize this volume to the point of making it transparent, without substance, a mirage where the architecture disappears in favor of the site in which it is inserted. Thanks to steel mesh frameworks, the volume remains identifiable while being almost invisible. Only the grid pattern reminiscent of ashlar remains perceptible. The idea is to reverse the relationship between void and built form: the stones along the banks become the substance of a new architecture. The numerous ruins along riverbanks testify to the historical importance of water, while today we evoke driedup currents as landscape scars. The aesthetics of the ruin commemorate the passage of time and seasons, inviting those who venture there to appreciate the complexity and depth of the traces left by erosion. It is also a reflection on the ephemeral, and, cradled by the water, the rocks tell the story of passing time and transitory nature. If mirages, as illusions, can be perceived as a metaphor for the fleetingness of time and dreams, these ruins of another kind invite one to pause for a moment. It is not only about deciphering this geometry, but above all, about being lulled by this suspended time and filling these voids with imagination and poetry.
GREEN WASHING
Winning project - Ephemeral art installation in public space, reused materials
Lost car wash in the middle of a forest, Greenwashing is an art installation crafted from repurposed materials, resonating with absurdity. Primarily composed of wire mesh assembled with bicycle wheels, onto which reused fabrics are attached, this piece starkly contrasts with its environment through its shape and colors.
The name Greenwashing, with a touch of irony, points to the contemporary desire to "cleanse through nature," often hypocritical and overly commercialized. The idea here is to change the perception of this pseudo-ecological ideology while creating an object with spatial and graphic qualities that blend into the landscape. Although its form somewhat resembles the surrounding trees, this installation invites reflection on the complex coexistence of the natural and the artificial in our modern world, prompting a reevaluation of human behavior towards nature through its improbability
ÁGUAS CORRENTES
Winning project - Permanent art installation in public space, reused materials
Premio Arte e Sustentabilidade, Zet Gallery, DST group, Barcelos, Portugal, March 2024
This work emerges from the vision of a staircase rising from the water to reach the sky. From its steps, drops fall, frozen between the elements, and their reflections transform this everyday archetype into an impossible object. This image carries a message about the challenges we face with climate change and rising sea levels.
Beyond their practical function of connecting different physical levels, stairs have been a powerful symbol throughout history in various cultures and the arts. By changing the purpose of the sculpture to represent a symbolic ascent towards sustainability, the project transcends from a visual narrative to a broader and conceptual message.
In the face of the flood, one may want to escape reality, but also choose a conscious path and reflect on our role in building a more sustainable future. Each step of the staircase becomes a milestone in our journey, representing not only physical progress towards the top but also personal growth and evolution. It is a reminder that even the smallest steps are important in the walk towards a greater goal.
The helical shape of the staircase, resembling a DNA sequence, illustrates an intrinsic connection between all elements of life and nature. It is as if we are ascending not only physically but spiritually, in harmony. The choice of recycled and surplus materials for the construction of the staircase not only reduces the environmental impact of the work but also adds layers of meaning to its narrative. These materials, which would otherwise be discarded, are re-signified and transformed into a work of art that celebrates human creativity and the capacity for regeneration.
As nature embraces this structure over time, with climbing plants enveloping the steps, we witness a rebirth, as if we are watching the Earth itself emerging from the depths, renewed and revitalized. Beyond the staircase, the three benches positioned in the scenic front are not just seats but invitations to contemplation and dialogue. Their shape, resembling steps, symbolizes the interconnection between all elements and invites visitors to engage with its message.
Thus, the staircase is not just a physical structure but a multifaceted symbol of hope, progress, and connection. It is an invitation for all of us to unite in a collective journey towards a better future for generations to come. It is a poetic statement about the intersection between art, nature, and sustainability. It is an invitation to dance in the rain of change, embracing each drop as a promise of rebirth. For in its steps, we find not just a journey, but also the promise of a new dawn.
O.R.N.I
Winning Project - Artist residency and installations, performances on the theme of cycling March 2024, Bairro da Tabaqueira, Sintra, Portugal
LEPAC, Art and Mobility, curated by @zet.gallery Floor painting, modified bicycles
The residency, originally named “Objetos Rolantes Não Identificados”, set out to explore a fresh narrative in the Tabaqueira neighborhood by blending bicycles with the retrofuturistic theme of UFOs. The goal was to craft unusual objects to spark curiosity and convey diverse stories through wheeled creations.
However, upon settling in Tabaqueira, we discovered that bicycles had historically been underused, as the neighborhood embodied the ideal 15-minute city: everything was within walking distance, rendering bicycles unfamiliar and even stigmatized.
Consequently, we shifted the focus of our initial plan and sought to narrate a different story, one highlighting the absence or scarcity of bicycles in the area.
These creations also allowed us to delve into artistic influences from the early 20th century, contemporaneous with the founding of the Tabaqueira neighborhood, using repurposed objects as our medium.
Through the development of four artworks using recycled materials and the initiation of a cycling route, we aimed to introduce a new narrative to enhance the accessibility and inclusivity of bicycles, with the aspiration that this project would instigate fresh participatory dynamics.
OS CAPELINHOS
Winning project -Art residency and ephemeral art installation in public space, reused materials
Loures, Portugal, september 2023
Play the ground, collectif Mais uno mais um
This residency, established within an informal neighborhood, resonates with our practice for several reasons. In an informal neighborhood, the notion of impermanence is experienced on the scale of a piece of the city and a piece of life, where strict necessity justifies construction.
Reusing materials, community participation, and temporary occupation aren’t new environmental architectural practices, but rather swift responses to a need that should be a guaranteed right by the state: the right to decent housing.
Through this lens, what is the role of the architect or artist? Isn’t beauty supposed to be a democratic right akin to the right to dignified housing? Can art be considered necessary in a neighborhood governed by utilitarianism and survival?
We collectively contemplated these themes while creating three sculptures in collaboration with local residents, utilizing available materials.
Inspired by Cape Verdean tales and legends where children take the form of magical beings to protect the inhabitants, the collective drew colors directly from the Cape Verde flag. Beyond the solutions art can offer in the context of an informal neighborhood, we firmly believe it can create a collective identity, inspire change, promote empathy, and foster dialogue between the public and institutions regarding the dignity of habitation.
ECUME
Direct commission - Ephemeral art installation in public space, reused materials
Parenteuf Festival - Chassy, France -June 2022
False ceiling panels
15 m x 2 m
By the edge of the pond, where tranquil waters meet the dreams of creative minds, a boat rests at the water's edge, serving as the starting point for this intriguing artistic creation. Behind it, a trailing formation stretches gracefully and poetically, reminiscent of the frothy wake left by a boat at sea.
This illusion is the result of an arrangement of ceiling panel tiles, repurposed and meticulously arranged in scales. Each scale reflects the surrounding light, creating an ethereal glow that appears to dance with the water's reflections.
The calm waters of the pond create a striking contrast with the dynamic wake, offering viewers a moment of reflection on the interplay between serenity and perpetual motion.
The choice of materials, using repurposed ceiling panel tiles, adds an intriguing dimension to the installation.
The scales that compose the trailing formation recall the organic and random texture of froth while conveying a sense of lightness and fluidity. It's as if the froth itself has been captured and frozen in time, allowing viewers to contemplate it from a new perspective.
This installation goes beyond mere visual contemplation; it evokes deep emotions, reminding us of the transience of life and how moments of beauty and lightness can leave a lasting imprint.
LUAR
Winning project - Ephemeral art installation in public space
Land Art Festival - Sever dou Vouga, Portugal, September 2021
Steel, exterior curtains
5m diameter
Situated on the site of a former railway tunnel, this moon-like structure at the entrance is not what it appears to be, inviting those who pass by to contemplate its threshold. Just as there are multiple phases of the moon, traversing a tunnel is, both physically and metaphorically, a journey from one state to another. Thus, the artwork accompanies the visitor inside the tunnel.
This red circle may evoke a traffic sign or a signal light for trains that once passed through here. However, if these signals are prohibitive, the materiality and lightness of the ribbon-like circle invite entry. Thus, the ribbons, resembling vegetation cascading at the tunnel's entrance, are actually curtains commonly found on the doors of Portuguese houses. We also wanted to integrate an everyday element into the material composition of the artwork, allowing an ordinary object to gain an extraordinary dimension outside its usual context.
The color red has also been one of the earliest used by humans in cave paintings, and just as humanity threatens the green of nature in our modern era, we hope this encourages people to see the landscape in a different light.
MANU
Direct commission - Ephemeral art installation in public space Festival la Mostra d'Art Urbà de Espai d'Arts Roca Umbert - Granollers , Barcelona, Spain- May 2021 Tatakizomé on fabric, wooden structure, sound5 m x 1 m on floor, height 3 m
The starting point of our intervention lies in the fact that mechanization led to the formalization of industrial architecture. Factories became the home of machines, and cities transformed to accommodate them. From this perspective, we can say that the Roca Umbert factory is, in reality, a mechanical product.
As cities and societies evolved due to the industrial revolution, the arrival of machines had a direct impact on the lives of the working class, who began to protest for better working conditions. Luddism was a protest movement whose response was the destruction of textile industry machines using hammers.
To this day, the term neo-Luddism is used to describe distrust of technology, and yet, there is a growing appreciation for handmade craftsmanship and artisanal processes.
The work MANU is constructed through these three elements of reflection: industrial architecture, Luddism, and textile screen printing. It involves creating an iconographic replica of the Roca Umbert factory, made out of fabric. The textile material previously produced in this factory becomes an architectural covering.
LOCAL BEAUTY
Winning project - Ephemeral art installation in public space
Festival des Architectures Vives de Montpellier, France - June 2019
Micro-perforated canvas stretched over a wooden framework6 m x 7 m on ground, height 3 m
Entering a Montpellier courtyard and feeling immersed in a Portuguese landscape is the spatial experience that this installation aims to provide. The blue of the azulejos (traditional Portuguese ceramic tiles) introduces a new tone to the courtyard and carries the memory of another locality. Beauty takes shape here in the encounter of two heritage identities. This space of physical sharing manages to create a hybrid landscape that transports us. The ceramic element becomes a unit of space, and the installation adapts to the composition of the interior facades. By working with transparency, the frescoes overlap like a veil on the walls, offering a new materiality to the courtyard. With its baroque aesthetic codes, the azulejo reflects ornamental beauty in architecture. Often considered superfluous, it is the primary material of the installation here. The stories depicted in the frescoes emerge as one strolls through, allowing for a journey through contemplation.
BLOOM IN BLUE
Winning project - Ephemeral art installation in public space
Appel d'air, Fourth edition, Biennale Internationale d'art contemporain, Arras, France- October 2020
Cyanotype on canvas and fossilization of flowers in plaster
8 m x 4 m on ground, height 2 m
Decomposing
The installation draws its essence from one of the symbols of Arras' historical and artistic heritage: Arras Blue, which is cobalt blue applied to glazed porcelain, then fired at high temperatures. The imprint can be defined as the visible trace of an element that no longer exists materially but virtually, thanks to the expression of a negative that evokes its presence.
The idea of representing the negative of floral patterns using the color blue became evident through the cyanotype technique. This technique allows for the revelation, using sunlight, of white imprints of flowers on a blue background. It's as if one had shaken a sheet on which a floral pattern was present, and the flowers detached to fall to the ground and crystallize. The concept of the installation is based on this "double imprint" of the plant element. By using Arras Blue and the cyanotype technique, the installation creates a connection between local artistic heritage and contempaorary artistic expression while exploring the theme of presence and absence through the imprint of floral patterns.
Porcelain and Arras blue
of this symbolic element
Plan shape of the installation
LAVOMATIQUE
Winning project - Ephemeral art installation in public space Festival Hors-les-murs, Landivisiau, France, February 2020
Wool bubbles, cement, nylon thread17 m long, 3 m high
Lavomatique is a tribute to the not-so-distant history of the Saint Thivisiau fountain, in the form of a playful, plastic wink to the visitor. In days gone by, the water in these basins agitated under the efforts of the washerwomen, transforming the fountain into an animated space. The soapy water undoubtedly released bubbles that rose above the wash, light and ephemeral. The placement of white wool spheres suspended above the fountain's three fountain's three main basins, evokes the customs of a bygone era.
B / NOTE D’INTENTION
ECHAPEE VERTE
Winning project - Ephemeral art installation in public space
Sporen Festival in Ypres, Belgium, September 2020
Green suspended ropes and lifting weights
8m wide and 10m maximum length
Longueur de la corde sur les remparts = Varie de 0.8 m à 3.5m
Hauteur 30 cm
Fondation 30 cm
Distance de la structure au muret existant = 1 m
Emprisetotale=6m Soit60cordestousles10cm
Rempartsexistants
Remparts existants
Vue côté remparts
Remparts existants
Muro Atelier // L'échappée verte // Page 11/12
The ancient defensive walls of Ypres now serve as a canvas for nature to reclaim its rights. These stone walls contain controlled vegetation that is eager to escape, cascading down the wall and reaching for the water. Like long vines hanging from the ruins of a forgotten citadel, these green ropes represent the plant life, using a metaphor associated with the idea of escape. One can envision an evolved nature preparing to break free from the confines of Ypres' walls, or perhaps it symbolizes a connection between water, vegetation, and stone, as if nature is inviting water to climb the city's ramparts. This site-specific installation, designed specifically for the walls of Ypres, aims to create a hybrid landscape, blurring the lines between the natural and the man-made, representing plant life through objects created by humans.
Niveau du sol
Niveau du sol
Niveau du muret existant
Vue côté promenade
Coupe / Détail d'accroche
Corde Planche bois de coffrage
Noeud
Pieu acier enfoncé dans le sol
Niveau du sol
NA ESQUINA - PRINCIPE REAL
Temporary occupation in an unused palace, cultural center, musical venues, cowork, bar and restaurant Lisbon, Portugal, 2020-2021
NA ESQUINA - MOSCAVIDE
Temporary occupation in an unused house and garden, cultural center, shared office and artist residencies Lisbon, Portugal, 2022 - now
GARDINUS
Sculpture in a private garden - Vimieiro, Portugal July 2019
Sheet metal and welded wire mesh - Dimensions = 5 m x 1 m on the ground, height 2 m
MANDALA MOON
Le Génie des jardins, 9th International Biennial of Contemporary Art, Paris, France - 2019
Embroidered mesh on a steel-reinforced dome
Dimensions = Diameter 1.50 m, h: 0.8 m
Education
2023
2023
2021/2022
Joana Tomas Artist and Architect
31/03/1989
Portuguese-French nationality
Languages: French, Portuguese, English, Spanish
// Startup Zero - Incubator for projects with ecological and social impact - Reuse project //Course on Ecofeminisms and Spaces - Women in Architecture - Triennale Lisboa // Relança-te #3 - Incubator for projects with ecological and social impact - Reuse project // Paris - B.I.M. Training
// ENSA Paris La Villette - Obtained H.M.O.N.P.
// ENSA Montpellier - Master’s Degree (Master 1 / Master 2) and State Diploma of Architect // Universidade Técnica de Lisboa - ERASMUS exchange program - Bachelor’s Year 3 // ENSA Montpellier - Bachelor’s Years 1 and 2
Professional Experience
Since 2019
Since 2019
Education
// MURO ATELIER - Co-founder
// NA ESQUINA - Co-founder - Cultural association and creation of third spaces
// COBE - Lisbon - Project-leading architect
// EMERGENTE - Urban agriculture and social market gardening
