Projecto distinguido com Menção Honrosa no Concurso Internacional SLANT Garden Design Comptetition 2011. Proposta elaborada pelos arquitectos paisagistas Mauro Cardoso, Rui Carvalho, Sara M. Ferreira e Tiago Bandeira Costa.

  A competição consistiiu na elaboração do desenho de um jardim para uma moradia privada. Era dada liberdade total na escolha da temática a explorar por cada grupo, bem como da localização e paisagem envolventes ao jardim.

 

LOCALIZAÇÃO:  Gerês, Portugal

DATA: Outubro, 2011

 

 

There is a pertinent question that you have to put: are people nowadays looking for the same things?

 

  One thing is certain: there's something different and refreshing in the way that new generations of city inhabitants see the surrounding environment. It’s becoming increasingly common different approaches and concerns, even at a young age, to what is the society of today; the young people are trying to understand what the quality of life is in fact.

 

  All over the world, in the past few decades, there has been a major tendency to the migration of population from the rural areas to the larger urban settlements. The main reason for this influx was the searching for better conditions and opportunities in the cities. Today, the major cities in the world are overpopulated, dealing with pollution issues and offering fewer opportunities and living conditions: new ways of thinking are brought into context.

 

  Other ideas, expectations and probably a hidden desire for personal fulfillment have led many people to move to more rural areas, largely lured by the possibility of a more sustainable way of life.

 

OBJECTIVES

  This proposal aim is to contribute to the desire of a young couple, attentive to the world around them, who chooses to live in a more rural area, trying to rediscover what is really important and necessary for a good quality of life. The house and garden will be occupied by the couple and their 2 years old son, who will soon have a brother. Together, they represent a new family-type, that have their own wills, tastes, and ways of recreation.

 

LOCATION

  The garden is surrounded by the splendid Portuguese landscape of Peneda-Gerês National Park, characterized by its steep slopes, cliffs, streams with many rocks and ponds and small stone houses. This landscape is also marked by its native vegetation: shrubs like Erica sp., Ulex Minor and Juniperus communis, as well as invaluable old stands of Oak trees.

 

PROPOSAL

  The proposal ensures an harmonious and dynamic relationship between existing landscape, the garden and the built elements. Inside the house are privileged views over the landscape and the main areas of the garden; outside, the space is organized so that people can enjoy the surrounding landscape, as well as make the most of the natural features existing in the site.

 

  So, was taken into account the presence of rock elements, the river and the proximity to a forest area, developing the proposal from them. It was conceived and designed the circulation by the main areas of the garden ensuring access to key areas of the garden by any guests with reduced mobility. An example is the walkway that runs along riverside, leading to the pond near the existing south of the site. The productive and recreational areas are associated, so residents can have fruit trees, producing some of what they eat.

 

  They are also established other areas, such as a swimming pool and the areas of meadow with low maintenance, for a more active recreation.