On the hills of the Portuguese Amieria region is a place for retreat and regeneration. Existing elevated structures built through time sit on a steep and rocky terrain – new friendly and familiar figures accompany them. Like their counterparts, they are elevated and built on stilts to avoid permanent footprints. As the predecessor covers itself in stone, the addition choses to cover itself in wood for malleability and flexibility purposes.
To complement the meandering paths, small bridges are installed to allow the guests to have access to their restful nests – providing only what is essential: shelter and sanitation. The network of gable roofs and circular windows hints at the typical bird house typology, pursuing the users to experience the site at different perspectives and elevations – the same way a bird experiences its surroundings. The positioning is distanced, staggered and rotated to allow every unit to have a unique character and to avoid any vis-a-vis. The placement can be adjusted on site to either allow more units or to provide more privacy. For the purpose of this proposal 13 units are placed throught the road and rocky terrain.
Both the proposed structures and nature coexist, allowing types of vegetation and living organisms to follow its course under and beside it. The users will be able to experience to become one with nature – similar to the Vale de Moses retreat ethos.
KOOZ What prompted the participation in the "Sleeping Pods on a Cliff Competition"?
BB | MD | FH All three of us are located in different cities and during the lockdown we caught up with one another. We shared some frustration regarding the creative limitations of our jobs and our schools and how the stay at home order only amplified these frustrations. This led us to think about participating in an open competition with a brief of our choosing. We picked this specific brief because we simply wanted to be there: in the Portuguese mountains, in a retreat. Due to the traveling restrictions – and more so the fact that we are broke – we just decided to “imagine” a space we would like to experience.
KOOZ What parameters informed the design and its relationship to the surrounding landscape?
BB | MD | FH We followed the brief word by word. We wanted it to be as straightforward and as primitive as possible. The whole intention of the pod is not to spend an extended amount of time inside and to simply use it as a recharging point. The site is already filled with various experiences and has allocated spaces for yoga and meditation. The floor plan is a single story with the smallest footprint possible: a bed nook at one end, an entry/hallway in the middle, and sanitation/storage on the other end. The gable roof allows for drainage and water collection, meanwhile providing more headspace in the interior – as well as blending to its existing context. The whole structure is lifted on stilts to allow nature to follow its course under and beneath the structure. The simplicity of the assembly allows it to be constructed by local builders which was important to us as the site is difficult to access.
KOOZ How and to what extent did you explore and implement a sustainable and local approach to building?
BB | MD | FH This is a topic we like to challenge ourselves with – especially in the beginning stages rather than an after-thought. We imagine the structure to be built with locally sourced wood capped with an overhang galvanized roof in order to protect the wood from any damage. This said roof also allows and guides the overflow water in a storage tank – which can also be intended to store the grey water from the sink and showers. We also decided to place limited openings to avoid overheating and placed them in a strategic way that could allow for cross ventilation. These same openings suddenly frame specific moments in its direct context. The footprint and size is easy to maintain and is malleable for the clients to potentially use them as they wish.
KOOZ What is the value of inserting these kinds of receptive/tourist structures within the landscape?
BB | MD | FH It is true that inserting architectural elements in a beautiful landscape is tricky – and in most cases it would be better off without any insertions. In this case the site already hosts a series of small and staggered volumes – some new and some old cottages that are repurposed. More importantly the road infrastructure is already built in a severely sloped site. The road meanders from left to right as a response to the slope, and as a result creates certain pockets within the terrain that is directly accessible by the road. As the retreat evolves and is low on capacity, these pockets become room for expansion. We were very careful to avoid having any wide or tall volumes competing with the landscape. The intention is to have small volumes that can camouflage itself with the trees and the landscape around it – almost like birdhouses that are often hard to spot.
KOOZ How do you envision the project developing over the course of the seasons and years?
BB | MD | FH The proposal envisions a single structure that can be placed, aggregated, and distributed depending on the need. They can be added, and as easily they can be removed. We further proposed an arrangement based on privacy setbacks and staggered the structures to avoid any vis-a-vis between users. We believe that this process allows for experimentation and can begin with a single structure that can be used and analyzed to inform the next structures rather than building all the structures at once. The size and the fact that it is elevated on stilts can allow for improvements and maintenance along the course of the seasons and years.
Bio
Megi is from Georgia, Fadri is from Switzerland, and Bachir is from Morocco. They all met during their bachelor degree in the Architectural Institute of Prague in the Czech Republic. During that time they have seen each other at their best and at their worst – which set a strong foundation for a friendship beyond borders. They all split ways afterwards and are currently in different locations. Yet, they manage to catch up from time to time and remotely participate in competitions. When they can, and when permitted, they meet up.
