Monitoring and Investigation Centre and Accommodation for researchers of Furnas
SG +FG = Sergio Guerra + Fernando Guerra

Monitoring and Investigation Centre and Accommodation for researchers of Furnas

Aires Mateus Architects as Architects

The project intends to evoke the architectural landscape of the Azores, drawing upon the form and material that embed the collective memory of this island and archipelago, that have become, with time, a second nature of this place. Therefore, the buildings are archetypal volumes, simple and compact, clad with the local basaltic stone.


The Furnas Monitoring and Investigation Centre This building asserts itself as the largest of the group to build around the lagoon. Being the most exceptional building, the Furnas Monitoring and Investigation Centre draws on an intermediate space between exterior and interior – the courtyard. This element results from a subtraction to the volume, cutting it from within the central zone (the vertex of the four roof fields) to the exterior limit of a facade thus enabling access to the interior. This internal courtyard also becomes the point where the main internal compartments are revealed. These spaces, truncated by the subtraction that defines the courtyard maintain all relations between interior/exterior. The building was therefore conceived as a sculpture, as a block of raw matter that is intentionally cut into to capture light and the lagoon itself.


Accommodation for researchers The building for temporary accommodation is a compact volume of four fields compartmentalised into four units. The building is cut in each of the four facades by a wooden threshold that enables the penetration of light and access to each of the accommodation units. There is an established hierarchy of heights between the four spaces related to the solar orientation of each unit. The exterior wall of the building is structural where the necessary infrastructures and services run as oppose to the light interior timber walls.

Project Spotlight
Product Spotlight
News
PLATO Gallery of Contemporary Art: Architecture finalist in Mies van der Rohe Awards 2024
29 Mar 2024 News
PLATO Gallery of Contemporary Art: Architecture finalist in Mies van der Rohe Awards 2024

In this Archello series, we look at each of the seven nominated projects (five architecture finalist... More

Detail: sliding panels of natural pine protect a residential complex from the Mallorcan sun
29 Mar 2024 Detail
Detail: sliding panels of natural pine protect a residential complex from the Mallorcan sun

Spanish architecture firm OHLAB has recently completed Paseo de Mallorca 15, a residential complex o... More

Snøhetta designs new extension for the world’s oldest ski museum in Oslo
28 Mar 2024 News
Snøhetta designs new extension for the world’s oldest ski museum in Oslo

Global transdisciplinary architecture and design practice Snøhetta has designed a new entranc... More

10 public buildings that demonstrate architectural applications of precast concrete
27 Mar 2024 Specification
10 public buildings that demonstrate architectural applications of precast concrete

Precast concrete is made by casting concrete in a reusable mold. These molds are made of various mat... More

Sameep Padora and Associates creates a flowing, organic art center in southern India
26 Mar 2024 News
Sameep Padora & Associates creates a flowing, organic art center in southern India

Mumbai-based Sameep Padora & Associates (sP+a) has completed Hampi Art Labs in Toranagallu, a vi... More

Introducing Partner Thermory AS
26 Mar 2024 Partner News
Introducing Partner Thermory AS

Thermory AS offers a diverse product range that includes durable exterior cladding, decking, interio... More

Brooklyn Tower by ShOP Architects showcases a unique materiality
25 Mar 2024 News
Brooklyn Tower by ShOP Architects showcases a unique materiality

Brooklyn Tower, standing an impressive ninety-three stories tall with a unique neo-deco crown, is al... More

Doriana Fuksas, Martin Lesjak, Li Xiang and Steven Wright join Archello Awards 2024 jury
25 Mar 2024 Archello Awards
Doriana Fuksas, Martin Lesjak, Li Xiang and Steven Wright join Archello Awards 2024 jury

Doriana Fuksas, Martin Lesjak, Li Xiang and Steven Wright have been announced as Archello Awards 202... More