“ Inhabiting Timber”

To inhabit is to occupy those spaces and to perform the vital functions of comfort, of work or pleasure.

The Equestrian Centre located at Cabo do Mundo, Leça da Palmeira, is inhabited by horses and working there, people who love horses.

When we practice our profession we enter deeply into the lives of the eventual inhabitants and users and get to know them well and intimately. What they like, what they don’t like. This is always the way, as should be the case, irrespective of who these users or habitants are.

The two covered riding arenas, of different sizes, developed into an interesting structural challenge due to the considerably large spans, and this led to some experimentation.

Carlos Castanheira

Architect:

Carlos Castanheira

Office in Portugal:

CC&CB – Architects, Lda.

Project Coordinator:

Orlando Sousa

Project Team:

Orlando Sousa

Fernanda Sá

Cátia Carvalho

Adele Pinna

Sofia Conceição

Diana Vasconcelos

Nuno Campos

Inês Bastos

Joana Catarino

Pedro Afonso
Engineering

Structure:

HDP – Construction and Engineering Projects, Lda.

Electricity:

IGEMACI – Engineering, Lda.

Constructor:

MCA, S.A.

Carpentry:

CARMO – Wood Structures S.A.

CARPINTARIA C. SILVA, Lda.

HENRIQUES & RODRIGUES, Lda.

TOSCCA – Wood Equipment, Lda.

Hydraulics:                

DIÂMETRO & CÁLCULO – Construction and Engineering Projects, Lda.

Construction Area:

2 964 m2

2015 – Honorable Mention in the National Prize of Architecture in Timber for the Structural Quality of the building – AFN/MA, Portugal.