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The Value of What Remains
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The Value of What Remains

On 25 September, Portugal marks National Sustainability Day. Established in 2023, the date coincides with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations in 2015.

For MJARC, it is an opportunity to consider a question that comes before any new intervention: what deserves to remain?

Preserving the Landscape, Structure and Memory

At Douro Wood House, the answer began with the land. The house was raised to avoid significant changes to the topography, while openings in the roof allowed the existing trees to be preserved. The architecture found its place among what was already there.

douro wood house projeto de arquitetura da mjarc arquitetos vencedora de inumeros premios internacionais

At Riverside Condominium, in Santa Comba Dão, preservation meant giving new life to an unfinished building. The intervention retained more than 90% of the original structure, transforming it into homes that open towards the landscape of the Dão River.

Edifício de apartamentos moderno de quatro andares com revestimento em madeira escura e grandes janelas. O telhado é cinzento e possui uma forma geométrica ondulada proeminente, saliente. O edifício apresenta varandas em toda a fachada. Em primeiro plano, há um jardim relvado bem cuidado com pequenos arbustos e árvores jovens, ladeado por uma rampa de betão. Arquitetura MJARC Arquitetos

At Cicioso Boutique Hotel, in the historic centre of Évora, the transformation began with the building’s memory. Its vaulted ceilings and wooden floors were preserved and became part of a new hospitality experience.

Cicioso boutique hotel num ambiente noturno e exterior com piscina e luzes ambiente quentes

Preserving What Exists, Designing for the Future

Preservation takes on other forms when a building finds a new purpose. In hospitality, the existing structure and its history can become part of the guest experience. We explore this relationship between continuity and transformation in our article on hospitality and adaptive reuse.

Other choices are less visible, yet felt throughout a building’s life: its orientation, shading, ventilation and response to the local climate. In our article on bioclimatic architecture in Portugal, we look more closely at how these decisions can contribute to comfort across the seasons.

These are different contexts, united by the same intention: to understand what exists before adding something new. Thoughtful architecture can also be recognised in what it chooses to preserve.

If you are imagining a new space or giving an existing building a new life, get in touch. At MJARC, we develop projects attentive to place, people and available resources — designed to meet today’s needs and continue to make sense tomorrow.

Sources: Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 56/2023 — Diário da República · Adoption of the 2030 Agenda — United Nations