ArchiNews | Interview

«t seems to me that we have access to so much information that we are ‘dumbing down’…» INÊS GAVINHO, ArchiNews ed#65

«We came to the conclusion that what brought to architecture and the joy we have in designing ultimately make up only 20 percent of professional satisfaction, with the remaining 80 percent being inexplicable challenges in the process. The goal is to reach 60 percent satisfaction…» VISIOARQ, ArchiNews ed#64

«Everything is done with critical thinking, the detail that enhances the aesthetic component, which isn’t detached from its function. We’re not just seeking the shape. The whole package has to be of high quality. And in all projects, we aim to give the client what they didn’t know they wanted…» OPENBOOK, ArchiNews ed#63

«It is always different being a woman in the profession… The profession itself is also very selfish. To be a truly successful architect, you need exclusive dedication to work. Some people travel every week and work compulsively, without breaks, holidays, Saturdays, or Sundays…» Ana Costa, ArchiNews ed#62

Doing architecture “requires a certain insistence, persistence and perseverance… We often have to go back and throw away many hours of work, which is a resistance exercise. It is always necessary to lift all the stones…“ Tiago do Vale, ArchiNews ed#60

“The project is a journey that has a destination. We take the client on that trip and we like it to be an unforgettable trip. There are clients who don’t want or don’t have the time. They deliver and trust… But the important thing is that the client also grows and evolves with the project…” […]

“Domestic life, for example, maintains a unique and spiritual relationship with place and time, repeating itself as if it was a liturgy. The religious space carries, in addition to this dimension, a symbolic burden that makes it assume a very specific character. Religious architecture does not repeat formulas, but seeks the essence and, why not, the sublime…” António […]

“I never tried to make the projects with the objective of following a style, an architectural aspect, or having a signature. I never thought much about it, I always designed the houses as I thought they should be…” Raulino Silva, ArchiNews ed#57

“There is a vision that be fits the 20s, and another that be fits the 50s. It is good to understand youth and maturity… and not confuse ages. We cannot pretend that we are young at 50 or that we are mature at 20…” Manuel Aires Mateus, ed#56

”Sustainability is commendable, the problem is to evaluate everything solely by the same criteria. When you have two projects for evaluation, just because one of them is a little more sustainable than the other, the less sustainable one is outright rejected…” Manuel Ventura, ArchiNews ed#55

”Teaching online has been a great challenge. For the first time we tested something that we always criticized and questioned. This does not come from the heart, but from the need… The human relationship is extremely important in architecture… It gets lost” Cristina Verissimo / Diogo Burnay, ArchiNews ed#54

“Time will help in the assessment of the new reality and in the development of new responses. We have to believe in our enormous capacity to overcome problems and to find solutions. The contribution we can expect from architecture is the same that has been made throughout the history of Mankind…” Humberto Conde, ArchiNews ed#53

“We can use 50 spices, all of which are part of the recipe, but to make the dish tasty it is necessary to know the cooking time and the quantity of each one. It is hard to work with so many spices… Many are purists and only work with a small number to produce that special […]

“Vilanova Artigas said a fantastic thing: “Firstly, architecture is a technique, which has to be very well resolved, and then, perhaps, it can be art…” It is important to know how the building contacts the floor plan and how it contacts the sky plan…” Samuel Torres de Carvalho, ArchiNews ed#51

“The tourist, for all intents and purposes, is someone who is consuming the city already made. And this consumption is only possible because someone made a city before they arrived. Historical centres, matured over centuries, are then consumed by the people who invested the least in it…” Ricardo Vieira de Melo, ArchiNews ed#50

“For me, it is essential that the client identifies with what I do…  If someone hires us it is because they want to have something different… Being surprising is my job” Cristina Jorge de Carvalho, ArchiNews ed#49

“Everyone misses the time when the projects were made with time, very matured, fully talked and discussed. Today there is no time left for anything. The profession has become exhausting… The deadlines are crazy. The fees are very strangled. Legislation is a load of paper!” Pitagoras Group, ArchiNews ed#48

“Never felt attracted by the path to the stars. When it comes to creating on the white screen nothing seduces him more than the Invisible Architecture, the one that does not mark. The territory is already so marked that we better hide. To see, without being seen” Luis Rebelo de Andrade, ArchiNews ed#47

“Aldo Rossi says that  the first thing a teacher should do on the first day of classes is to show the students their work, credibility starts there. And to make it even more credible, we often use the phrase of the architect Jose Paulo dos Santos: We are what we do, we teach what we are…” Menos é […]

“The people who work with us are also trained architects. They are not Autocad lines or ArchiCad volumes drawing machines. They must be involved in the process. Architecture is a collective, utilitarian and social activity…” Nuno Montenegro, Archinews ed#45

“We have the desire to create environments, to create fantasy, to turn fantasy into reality. It isn’t only a matter of putting chairs, tables and sofas. Our sites always have some magic, some story, something in the air. They are spaces of mystery and intimacy. (…) We don’t need to do more, we need special things…” Nini […]

“We are always concerned with the sensory part. The work with the model, the hand, feeling the space, the volumetry, and even chance, which is also part of our work, and we are not ashamed to admit it, because it is a very powerful creative element…” Spaceworkers  (Henrique Marques / Rui Dinis), ArchiNews ed#43

“There are those who do not say anything until we do things, but after they are done they become very attentive and they start interfering. Everyone has a friend who is an architect or an engineer… And we have that terrible culture of giving opinions about what we do not known…” FCC Arquitectura (Fernando Coelho […]

“The big challenge is to make Architecture be a binder capable of being present and remaining in increasingly rapid and unpredictable changes, capable of maintaining Man’s relationship with the surroundings, with other Men…” Topos Atelier (Jean Pierre Porcher / Margarida Oliveira), ArchiNews ed#41