CLARA is a center for rural development located on the site of an old brick factory in Santa Clara de Sabóia in Alentejo. In this place, a long-term tourism and cultural project is being developed, whose objectives is research, training and innovation based on multidisciplinary knowledge, reflection and production. The project promotes a creative environment where people live and work together, stimulating the debate around local issues thus encouraging the commitment of everyone involved and the surrounding community. In this context, Warehouse was invited to contribute to the project with the design and building of a temporary equipment to support the Glamping campsite located on the west side of the land.
This building supports the development of the first activities to be promoted in the place with greater comfort, since it provides the essential conditions for guests who are able to establish themselves during their stay in the place.
The architectural language of the Nomad base Camp introduces a contemporary image, based on a concise and clean design, where the volumetric shape interconnects harmoniously with the surroundings of the old brick factory, with a strong presence on the site.
The colors and materiality chosen in the architectural project aim at their good integration in the local landscape.
The building consists of two volumes that distribute the program on the ground floor based on functionality. At the south end there is the kitchen space and technical areas in an independent volume. In the same alignment, in the opposite direction, there is a long volume that includes several restroom cubicles equipped with showers and toilets. Between the two volumes, there’s a shaded outdoor eating area to protect people from the high temperatures typical of the region. The volume and orientation of the building are defined to enhance the relationship of views with the landscape and the pre-existences of the land. In the design of the roof, the scale is balanced with the surroundings and the natural landscape.
The design of continuous one-pitch roofs is allusive to the shape of the roof of the brick factory and its slopes are determined to increase the energy efficiency of solar equipment, responsible for capturing and generating energy that leads to the self-sufficiency of this equipment.
The materiality and construction system for Nomad Base Camp were defined during project phase based on premises of sustainability, minimization of waste, structural lightness, replicability and adaptation of standard walls, and also the absence of foundations in the soil.
This framework served as a guide for the creation of a system based on the pre-production of various elements in carpentry and metalwork workshops. This method defines and organizes a model that provides advantages such as ease of transportation, adjustment for future uses, budgetary adaptation, quick assembly and possible disassembly and reconfiguration for other uses and venues.
Team: Colectivo Warehouse + Forjanarchitecture
Partners: CLARA – Centro para o futuro rural, Sofalca, CIN, Paulo Filipe electricista, Brunisi.
With: Rúben Teodoro, Ricardo Morais, Sebastião de Botton, Romain Deboulle
Collaborators: Sempre Magalhães, Pedro Abrantes Nunes, João Martins, Bruno Caracol, Ricardo Vilhena, Jaysor Miguel, Mariella Gentile, Vincent Rault, João Silva, Flávio Nelson, Hugo Francisco