Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.” – Frank Gehry

The concept behind the project seeks to highlight time as the main phenomenon, which is marked in the physical and contextual conditions of the site. It embodies an intimate encounter between new and old architecture, with no chance of denying their origins, and while emphasizing their differences to create a clear contrast between the past and the present.

The Zavial Battery ruins claim themselves as gateway to the new architecture, as a beautiful timeline that takes us through centuries of existence in just a few steps. Placed beyond the cliff edges, floating on the water, the Mirador allows us to touch and feel the site’s immensity and openness, seeking the minimum impact on the purity of the ruins, respecting the characteristics of the existing site while maintaining the beauty of the natural scenery.

A concrete structure embraces two suspended volumes which make visual contact with distant points beyond this location, assigning a private proximity with the Fortress remains, with the crags and the seashores in the surroundings, while engaging with the life of the Ingrina and Zavial beaches. The voids in the vierendeel girders act as frames for the vast landscape, as the presence of the monolithic structure within such a memorable place becomes a strong mark of the power of time over the power of man.​​​

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Mirador | 2020 | 174m² | Bateria do Zavial, Algarve - Portugal