Romu 

2022 - Ongoing

Dogs occupy and roam around the city of Mindelo with a fathomless presence. They are the true owners of the city, one could argue. ROMU is a story about the city, through the life of a dog named Romu. The story is told in parts, which are sent via mail for free. A gift.

Excerpt of the first part:

“[...] Never have all those delights that mother nature offered during his growth (and which can lead to complicated temptations) had been as majestic as the first ones. Just like the moment when, through his still-closed lids, Romu glimpsed the light and smelled the Night for the first time. It was the brightest night he can remember. As well as the noise of the cars. Romu still feels the vibrations of the car tires on the cobbled road and the noise of adults and children passing by at the end of the alley leading to the street connected to the town square. The same street where years later he would live for a few years.

That night, curled and muffled in each other, some of his brothers were already asleep, while others were still trying to find the best position. Before falling asleep, Romu looked up at the sky and, for a few moments, contrary to what many people don't believe, his eyes opened. As his eyes opened, he saw something on the moon that baffled him. Something Romu couldn't understand. Something that intrigued him for the rest of his life-nights whenever he looked up at the moon.”

Mindelo, Cabo Verde
+ Fanzin

Pedro Gregório: Life and Work, The Balance of Precise Gestures

2021 - Ongoing

This project seeks an approximation to the work of the architect Pedro Gregório Lopes. Pedro Gregório was the first Cape Verdean architect to practice in Cape Verde. His professional career began in 1959 at the Brigada das Obras Públicas in Cape Verde, at the time under the administration of the Overseas Ministry in Portugal. Joining the Brigada marks the beginning of a journey full of challenges and opportunities that consolidated a practice about architecture and the role of the architect in the Cape Verdean context that deserves to be rescued and analyzed.

To this end, the research will start with an introduction to his childhood and youth, years prior to going to Portugal  to study architecture at the University of Porto; a study of Cape Verdean vernacular architecture, which intends to draw possible parallels between his experience in the rural context on the island of São Nicolau and the architecture he came to practice; the analysis of concepts related to the climate in Cape Verde, which will later serve as guidance for the analysis of key works by Pedro Gregório, between 1960 and 1980; and finally, a reflection on the present and future of his legacy.

Cabo Verde
+ Research

4-day apartment

Completed 2021

We had 4 days to re-think an apartment. The process itself was quite peculiar: the conventional concept of the architect-client relationship vanished. Where normally there would be a certain contention and reluctance to share ideas in the architect's creative process, there was an unconditional and constant exchange of suggestions and proposals from all sides (me-Joel-São) that shaped the space. The process of imagination and creation of the space was open and receptive to any and all ideas - the ideas came up between the meal and the walks through the streets of São Paulo. I think that the role of the architect, whenever possible, should be exactly this: a mediator between 1. the needs and desires of those who will inhabit the place, 2. the enhancement of the architectural qualities that the place provides or can provide, and 3. the possibilities of technical implementation. In this specific project, there were no major structural changes and spatial reorganization, so our collective design was more about thinking about how to use all the corners of the small apartment.

Aclimação, São Paulo
+ Remodelação

Feijão Lava 

2020 - Ongoing

As Ken Albala argues in his book Beans, A History, “due to its ubiquity, beans are one of the few foods that serve as a unit of analysis and comparison across time and space” and that “[beans] are among the few foods that have been crossed and transplanted so avidly across continents throughout history that today few people, with the exception of botanists, manage to put all the species on their feet”.

Through the study of the bean plant - how it fits into this very specific geography and microclimate, the way it is treated, cherished and maintained - will it be possible to analyze and compare other aspects of this “time and space”, as suggested by Ken Albala?  Can the beans in Chã das Caldeiras, represent, in allegorical way, the way people live, build and relate in this community? Is it then possible to assume that these two elements - community and beans - are somehow interconnected and should therefore require a deeper look?


Chã das Caldeiras, Ilha do Fogo, Cabo Verde
+ Research Project

Pintód

Completed  2021

Workers from SUCLA, a tuna canned fish factory in a coastal village in Cabo Verde, join for the final days of preparation for the inauguration of the Fishing Museum - the former house of the founder of the factory.

Instructed by Nhô Djack, the oldest member of the family that now runs the factory, the workers gather unanimously to help in whatever task is needed until the museum’s inauguration.

What starts as the record of the construction process, ends up being a love letter from one of the workers to Nhô Djack

Pintód has been selected to be included in KUGOMA Film Forum Mozambique 2022.

Click here to view film

Tarrafal de São Nicolau, Cape Verde
+ Documentary,  29 min