The Place of Sharing: A House for Play and Beyond... the topping-out celebration

Save this picture!

Ultimately, the construction concluded with a celebration. With the completion of "Not Only a Playhouse" ("Uma Casa de Brincar e Não Só..."), Casa da Arquitectura – Portuguese Centre for Architecture handed over the facility last Friday, August 10, to the residents of the Guarda Housing Complex in Perafita, Matosinhos, Portugal. Music and performances brought a lively close to two weeks of intense work during the second edition of "O Lugar de Partilha" (The Sharing Place).

Dona Lurdes, 64, a representative of the neighborhood's residents and one of the project's most enthusiastic supporters, who followed the work daily, could not hide her emotion. “We became a family; it’s going to be hard to see them leave, they will stay in my heart,” she admitted, referring to the 15 young architects and students from various parts of the world who volunteered their time and effort to this sharing place. The labor came from countries such as Australia, Mexico, Italy, Brazil, and Portugal—a key element of this workshop produced by the CA team under the coordination of architect Carla Barros. “O Lugar de Partilha,” a self-construction laboratory, is curated by Roberto Cremascoli, who was assisted on-site by tutor-architects Edison Okumura, Ivo Poças Martins, and Dulcineia dos Santos.

Save this picture!

“The outcome of this sharing between partners and the local community in building this facility has made Casa da Arquitectura, and myself personally, very pleased. It is an example to follow,” noted CA executive director Nuno Sampaio.

Save this picture!

Save this picture!

Save this picture!

Partners of Casa da Arquitectura for this project included the Matosinhos Municipal Council through MatosinhosHabit, the Union of Parishes of Perafita, Lavra, and Santa Cruz do Bispo, numerous local groups and associations, as well as the University of Minho. The project also received support from JPinto Leitão, CIN, Hilti, OtiimaArtWorks, Nogueira Fernandes Lda, QT Civil Portugal, To Work For, Zeus Sport, and Fixpaços.