Eight main volumes with sloped roofs in different directions are proposed, containing the classrooms, spatially articulated by a circulation ring/corridor, with enough transparency to visually incorporate and provide a special continuity between the interior and the central courtyard, where the open amphitheatre is located. Apart from these volumes with identical dimensioning, there is another with larger proportions containing the indoor gymnasium. In each of these volumes’ facades there are large glass windows, allowing the classrooms to be lit by natural lighting. The windows are placed in different strategic areas in order to maintain the privacy needed for a
classroom.

The project underlines the idea of a space with special qualities, that allows not only the learning through classes, but also that improves people’s experiences, mobility and their connection with school itself. Thus, we developed a concept of Open School, exploring the school more like a body rather than a building itself: the school it is not finished; it is in constant evolution and has to be used by children, teachers, parents… in order to achieve its potential and purpose.

At the same time, the Open concept also refers to the will of creating a building clearly connected to the city. Having that in mind, the shape of the proposal, made through cuts and subtractions, reflects the forms of the city. In addition to that, the two entrances allow the user to have different interactions and perceptions: as the student grows older and changes from preschool to primary school, so does his perception of the building, as if it was not the same.

The LOOP Housing Complex is a project whose spaces are transformed into a concept, a new way of being and living, where the city is connected to the landscape, the house joins the vineyards, the residents to the visitors, where the interior expands to the outside, considering that the living is not only restricted to the private space of the house but also extends to collective life.

Regardless of the needs of occupation of this “LOOP” of housing and of the inner courtyard, which will be further specified, the intervention is understood as a whole, where the public and leisure space is the protagonist that, in spite of this, does not cease to be in agreement with the other parts. The galleries, besides being elements of circulation and access to the dwellings, running through the building and connecting all levels, are presented as one of the keys to the intervention, complementing the circulation and access spaces with places of passage, gardens and paths with visual amplitude and spatial attractiveness to create spaces for the conviviality of the residents.

The designed building ensures that the dominant elements of the region are an essential part of this new design, assuming itself as a set of references at a conceptual or formal level around which the new architecture was developed. We have opted for the total demolition of the small agricultural support building on the site.

Volumetrically, it is assumed in the landscape as a whole that seeks an adaptation to the terrain, through the design of balconies, rocking and retreats and platforms at different levels up to the accessible roof itself.

The building, with a capacity of 12 accommodation units, is installed longitudinally along the main access path to the property (which we designed) and develops on two floors above the sill, and the external access to the roof, which finds here a privileged outer space for contemplating the landscape. At the entrance, along the way, there are some parking spaces as well as an area for loading and unloading and other support spaces.

1. Accessibility
The design of the routes in the outdoor space, which is strongly characterized by the topography, enables barrier-free crossing of the area from the northern part of the complex at Fellenbergstrasse to the southern part at Langgrüstraf3e. This circulation also enables joyful moments along the various rooms, which often switch between more public and spacious zones to more intimate and hidden ones. Entrances, general access areas and commercial uses as well as apartments and their sanitary rooms are dimensioned and designed barrier-free or can be adapted to the requirements of the situation.

2. Building development
The building complex is developing in the area in a way that tries to respect and complement the remarkable but calm city figure. The integration of the new proposal is based on the careful placement of the two buildings facing the penalties that border the property, the Fellenberg and Langgrüstraf3e.

These two buildings have the same character and follow the direction of their neighboring buildings, carefully adjusting their height. Both are significantly lower compared to the rest of the complex, so that the penalty images remain unaffected.

However, the proposal not only tries to blend in with its surroundings, but also to create its own strong identity, which becomes more evident in the core of the property, where a green carpet stretches across the two punishments. Here are two buildings with different shapes and a more prominent height, which allow the creation of a more pluralistic interior space. This results in a large number of apartment types and with different levels of sunlight.

On the ground floor, the green carpet is activated with entrances, common rooms and public programs such as the kindergarten or the social rooms.

3. Materialization
The composition of the four buildings is on a generous entrance level, which is emphasized by a particularly generous floor height and a change of material in the lower part is underlined. This level is interrupted by the interplay of the house entrances, large-format windows for commercial use and smaller windows for communal use. The rear-ventilated wooden facade that characterizes the entire complex develops from there. This block of wood is interrupted on each level by a self-supporting concrete balcony, which protrudes from the main structure and at the same time marks the change of level and provides the balcony areas. The balcony areas play a crucial role in the overall expression of the building. The densification with metal masts and the slight inclination of the facade creates a filigree appearance that refines the urban expression and gives each individual outdoor area a special and unique quality.

4. Economy
The urban settlement with four partially deep, compact buildings of simple geometry is the basis for an economic project. The conventional supporting structure in combination with prefabricated façade elements, a balanced proportion of glass in the façade and the use of common structures enable an economical one
Realization. The consistent use of suitable, durable and robust materials, constructions and surfaces leads to economical operating and maintenance costs. The project parameters HNF/GF, AN, AN, Ao/GF are in a good range.

5. Building technology & energy

A balanced proportion of glass in the facades and the compactness of the building due to deep and few structures form the basis for an energy-optimized overall system. The building technology concept is based on a building-by-building system for HLS in the basement, which is directly connected to vertical riser zones. PV systems and thermal solar collectors can be combined with green flat roofs. The heat is generated via the district heating network according to availability. All in all, the prerequisites for achieving the Minergie-P-Eco target values ​​are good.

The project for the Mortuary House of Barrancos presents itself as a new concept transforming the ways of understanding the funeral rites and of carrying out the memorial of loved ones, without ruptures or contradictions, only seeking to establish links between Man and Nature, the Profane and the Divine, the Perennial and the Ephemeral, Tradition and Memory.

Based on the premises set out in the statement of this competition, the aim of this intervention is to create a mortuary house capable of responding to the need for new spaces for the municipality’s care and to consolidate the identity links with the community and the territory in which it operates, through the integration of innovative spatial and constructive solutions combined with an understanding of cultural values.

The landscape launches the guidelines for the development of the project: the intervention is developed from the square that gives access to the cemetery, transforming it into a viewpoint, from where the journey to the mortuary chapel begins. A schist wall is then built and the mortuary is implanted at a stabilised level, facing the new square, which now complements the existing viewpoint. The volume of the mortuary is compact and located at a strategic point to strengthen the relationship with the surroundings. With a white colour contrasting with the schist, the building transmits liberation, it feels like a space of light from where the landscape can be seen.

In this way, it is proposed a little intrusive implantation in the territory, trying to maintain the natural terrain and above all the centenary olive grove planted there. The areas of travel are improved by giving them a new urban sense and a greater and better visual range.

At the same time, the materials proposed also show an intentional sensitivity towards the place. Schist, a material so present in this Alentejo territory, guarantees a homogeneous and identity image, a solidity and perenniality that recovers the past, updating it, and refers to comfort and tranquility. In counterpoint, the Mortuary Chapel, whose colour and cutouts of the façade cite the genesis of the Barrancos landscape, is a space of Light, ethereal and liberating, which expands the limits of the building and floods the interior with the landscape, framing perspectives, illuminating spaces and providing a sense of meditation and transcendence.

Because of its new characteristics and harmonious, contemplative and sometimes transcendent environment, it is believed that the concept of intervention proposed for the Mortuary House of Barrancos could become a reference in the way of conceiving spaces of veiling and lead to an evolution of the current funeral rites.

O colégio desenvolve-se segundo um mote de escola no parque, de simbiose com a natureza e organiza-se segundo vários blocos com espaços exteriores interstícios, tornando clara a separação por ciclos e funções. Organizado em três pisos, distribui-se segundo quatro volumes transversais, conectados a um volume longitudinal.

Os dois volumes a Sul, próximos do átrio, destinam-se ao segundo ciclo; os dois a Norte ao terceiro ciclo; por fim, no rés-do-chão do volume Este organizam-se as zonas de refeitório, cozinha, secretaria, salas de docentes, enquanto no piso superior estão localizadas as salas de aula do secundário. O Piso -1 é tratado como o piso de uso geral, com salas de aula especializadas – laboratórios, salas de desenho e oficinas – auditório e, por fim, a livraria e biblioteca.

A entrada é feita através do ponto de ligação entre os volumes Sul e Este. A partir deste espaço, todas as funções são organizadas ao longo de um importante eixo longitudinal, marcado pelo volume Este, onde se organizam todas as zonas comuns e a partir do qual é feita a distribuição para os diferentes ciclos. Um segundo eixo longitudinal liga os volumes transversais, através de um corredor envidraçado.

The aim of the intervention is to create a space, seen and designed as a whole with different uses, which creates a strong dynamic and at the same time welcomes a range of services capable of attracting new visitors to the site, making the project and the investment more consistent and sustainable. Thus, the project refers to the creation of the Oceanus Park, which includes the expansion of the Oceanus College, with boarding school and senior residence, sports complex, single-family houses, biological park, urban park with restaurant and public parking. The project is launched with the motto of integration and exploitation of the natural landscape, the solution is integrated in the park.

“Perception and respect for the environment will help to find the balance in the cosmos that embraces us, so that we learn to be happy”.

The programme is divided in a very clear way: At the upper level, the residence and the houses have access to Rio do Paço Street from a new road; the school, implanted in the place where the topography is more stable, with a biological park and vegetable gardens under the stream; the sports complex at the lower level, which serves as a “kneecap” between Rio do Paço Street and the school; and, finally, the urban park, for community use, where walkways, belvedere and rest areas are proposed, as well as a restaurant.