GRAVITY GRACE IS MY LIGHTNESS

BERNARDO RODRIGUES ARQUITECTOS

Projects

NEW/BUILT  HOW TO BUILD AN ISLAND

NEW THE FRAGMENTARY NATURE OF TRUTH

NEW  THE ECHO AND THE CIRCLE OF TIME

NEW/BUILDING  UNDER THE COMPRESSION OF LIGHT

NEW/BUILDING THE INTERIOR GARDEN OF MEMORY

NEW/BUILT  FROM THE DEPTH OF SEA TO HEAVEN'S MOUTH

NEW THE METALLIC TASTE OF CLOUDS

NEW  VOYAGE TO THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD

GRAVITY GRACE IS MY LIGHTNESS

BUILDING THE SUDDEN STILLNESS OF LIGHT

THE HIDDEN MEANING OF NATURE

THE TRILOGY OF GARDENS

NON LINEAR HISTORY OF DREAMS

CREATION OF OPACITY

THEORY OF WINDS

THE MYTH & MOUNTAIN

VITREOUS BABEL

BUILT FLIGHT OF BIRDS

CONCRETE SPIRAL OF HISTORY

  BUILT PORTABLE SPIRAL OF HISTORY

THE ELLIPSES OF MATTER

OPUS MAGMA

OPUS LUSA

MASK & THE MIRROR

INFINITE MOVEMENT

ARCH & ORCHID

BUILT DOMUS IMPLUVIUM

MACHINA MUNDI

THE VEIL OF FAITH

BATHS AT THE CENTER OF THE WORLD

LABYRINTH & BUTTERFLY

THE SHELL OF TIME

BUILT CHAPEL OF ETERNAL LIGHT

CHAPEL OF THE SUN

CHAPEL OF THE SKY

FLOATING CLOUD

GRAVITY GRACE IS MY LIGHTNESS - STUDIES IN THE MOTION OF WATER
Watermill renovation and new cafeteria - Ribeira Grande, Azores 2013 -

Client - Familia Sr. Manuel Pinheiro - João e Vanessa Silva Pinheiro
Status - approved by Ribeira Grande council in 2015 and all building details, engineering and tender delivered in 2016
Project leader - Francesco Ugolotti / Collaborators - Giacoma di Vieste, Rafal Sliwa, Luís André Correia
Engineering - Sopsec / Tender - Carlos Tavares

From the heights of Lagoa do Fogo in central St. Michael Island the water from the rain and springs descends giving the name to the main city on the north Shore, Ribeira Grande.
A series of water mills are embedded on the banks of the river just at the entrance of the city, the "countess mills", tells the story of the use of lands, crops and forces of nature conjured within the seasons to break the fast of people and produce the everyday bread of diverse species of seeds and plantations.

One of these mills is to be renovated with the addition of a new element, a cafeteria over a bakery. Like a series of big rocks rolled by the storm along the river.

The strategy is to take hold of the main narrative of the site that sums the history of inhabitation in this islands.
The strong floods after the storms and downpours extracts and redeposits all that is along the territory: trees, stones of gigantic proportions, cattle, uncared ruins, all through the city and over out into the ocean.
The stones are fixed on the site after falling from the upper mountain, wide spanning views from within, a liberation of contained energy; grace and lightness.

Two players are added to the equation:
Stéphane Mallarmé's poem "A trow of dices will never abolish chance".
Leonardo da Vinci's studies in the motion of water on "the deluge" series.