Starting from the first sketches of a project, it is essential that the project's design restrictions are well defined. This will guide the project, making it more suitable for its location, owners, and local conditions. Among common restrictions, keeping the project cost low is perhaps the most ubiquitous. We spoke with the VAGA team, an office based in São Paulo, about the challenges and possibilities that working with a tight budget imposes:
Eduardo Souza (ArchDaily): For many architects, budget constraints are seen as a problem. But can it also be an opportunity?
VAGA: Every project has as its starting point a series of limitations, ranging from geographic and social conditions to the economic reality of the creator. Armed with all this information, we architects are always challenged to materialize an object that, in addition to other intentions and expectations, interprets the absolute conditions and transforms a pre-existing reality. Within the office, we try to see these limitations as opportunities; that is, the greater the challenge, the more inventive and ingenious the solutions must be, and, consequently, the more intriguing and singular the project will become. As an office, it was never our intention to work within a specific niche. We believe in a diverse and comprehensive architectural production.
