O Regolfo
Padrão, 2022
The village of Padrão, that was once the most populated in the area, is nowadays home to a very small population of around thirty people.
Arriving to the village today and talking to its residents, most of the conversations turn towards the river. In a year of draught like this one, the water that once filled the valleys is now slowly recessing, leaving a slope of rocky yellow earth uncovered. So when we asked the villagers what they would like to build in this place, their answer was a new access to the river that could adapt to the lower levels of the water.
After two first visits to the village, we finally decided to move the workshop and our sleeping bags to the local Associação Cultural, Recreativa e Desportiva and spend nine days developing and building the project. Living closely and working collaborately with the local residents, we proposed two floating platforms, that could adapt to the shifts of the water levels making it possible to use while creating new perspectives towards the river and the surrounding landscape.
Departing from used materials from the city dumpster, we designed two objects with two very different characters in their shape and colour, each of them proposing a different way to use and relate to the water.
During this process, building became a mere excuse to develop a deeper level of awareness and exchange between everyone involved, as well as a way of listening and dialoguing with the imposing landscape around us. These important relations are the essencial structure that will remain within the floating objects, guaranteeing their future and their place in the community.
Concept and design:
Colectivo Til
Building team:
Colectivo Til, Local Community
Production team:
Duarte Cavalinhos, Lara Seixo Rodrigues, Biatriz
Overal Project:
Esporo - Disseminação Cultural e Artística
Curatorship:
Mistaker Maker
Photography:
Mariana Vasconcelos