Opera Design Matters
Opera Design Matters is an architecture and design firm based in Lisbon, Portugal. The company was founded in 1986 by José Soalheiro and Teresa Castro, and has since then developed a diverse portfolio of projects ranging from public works (universities, hospitals, cultural centers) to private housing developments, hotel management services as well as industrial and retail designs.
Projects
Amongst a wide scope of projects of different program, scale and location, selected projects include "Alto do Parque" (1999, Lisbon, Portugal), "University of Minho (Universidade do Minho) Healthcare Science School" (2000, Braga, Portugal), "Forum Brandoa Civic Centre" (2003, Brandoa, Portugal), "Plaza Encarnacion Redevelopment" (2003, Seville, Spain), "Justice Campus" (2008, Madrid, Spain), and more recently the "Parque Valdebebas" (2009, Valdebebas, Madrid, Spain) that is currently in process – they won the competition with Bet Figueras and PROAP with a proposal entitled "Sol y Sombra" (Sun and Shadow). This team presented a project in which the new city serves as a balcony overlooking a great natural space defined by two natural areas: the higher ground, covered with a dense forest, and the streambed area, near the new development, with small lakes.[1]
Parque de Valdebebas is a new urban area with an extension of nearly 11 million square metres. Situated in the northeast quadrant within the municipal limits of the City of Madrid, it is bordered to the east by Terminal 4 at Madrid-Barajas International Airport and to the south by IFEMA, Madrid's trade fair complex. The development features a number of large-scale development projects, including the Valdebebas Woodland Park; the future Justice Campus of the Community of Madrid; the extension of IFEMA; and Real Madrid's Sports Complex. Along with these development partners, 1.2 million square metres of office and hotel space and 12,000 housing units, of which 45% will have some kind of government protection, will be developed.
They also have a large collection of unbuilt and research work that has developed from both formal and parametric design fields.
Landscape
The firm has several branches dealing with different areas of design. Opera Landscape is dedicated to creating a fertile ground both for the natural and the artificial to interact within an intelligent design. This group is led by Portuguese landscape architect Vânia Lopes.
Recent awards
- 3rd prize for the international competition of Alcalá de los Gazules, Cadiz, Spain, 2010[citation needed].
- 1st prize for the ideas competition for Valdebebas Park, Madrid, Spain, 2009 (in partnership with PROAP and Bet Figueras)[citation needed]
- 1st prize for the Santarém Strategic Project of the riverside area - Real Estate National Portuguese Awards 2009 - Urban development category[citation needed]
References
- ↑ Valdebebas Competition Press Release, SOL Y SOMBRA NAMED WINNER IN THE VALDEBEBAS INTERNATIONAL IDEAS COMPETITION FOR A NEW URBAN PARK
External links
This article "Opera Design Matters" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Opera Design Matters. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
