Innovating tradition and doing so in a sustainable way is one of the key themes tackled by many professionals in different disciplines. Portuguese architect and product designer Pedro Campos Costa has tried through some of his projects based on interdisciplinary researches to explore this topic: his "Casa Não Casa" (House-non-House) is an experimental structure with mirror-like surfaces covered in photovoltaic cells that make it invisible within the landscape in which it is situated; his LOW Bar features a large multi-purpose cardboard wall-piece assembled without any gluing.
Tonight Campos Costa will be taking part in a lecture entitled "(R)innovate Tradition" at Macau-based architecture and design studio Lines Lab (some readers may remember previous posts about the studio).
The lecture is also a product launch to celebrate Campos Costa's new piece, a lamp made with cork, a material often employed in the construction industry especially for its insulation properties, that the architect and designer already used in different projects, including the "13 longue chair" installation during Milan's Salone del Mobile.
Founded in 2007 as a R&D practice and a multidisciplinary office, Campos Costa Architects has so far received numerous awards and honours delivering successful projects such as the Lisbon Aquarium extension, the Portuguese Environment Agency Headquarters extension and the Quarteira's Seafront and Municipal Market, while also working in the fields of art and scenography.
What does it mean to you "(R)innovate Tradition"?
Pedro Campos Costa: To be true to tradition, intending this word in some cases as the material or the technique or technology employed to make something, and creating through it a building chacterised by contemporary and modern design or a product for modern needs. I think there is an interest for this kind of projects and concepts and that renovating traditions through new and modern ideas is something that works well not only for a smaller product, but also for our cities. As an architect I do apply these concepts to city scales, master planning and objects of design, looking at the past and reinterpreting it.
What fascinates you about cork?
Pedro Campos Costa: It's a very Portuguese material, since we have a lot of it in Portugal, but what truly fascinates me about it is the fact that cork is a truly amazing material with a lot of properties: it is waterproof, and recyclable so you can destroy it and endlessly rebuild with it a new product; it's light, flexible, and doesn't burn; it's very good for acoustics and insulating and it is allergy-proof. This is why I find it extremely exciting working with it.
Some of the shapes you create through your projects are very fluid, do you employ any kind of computer software to design them?
Pedro Campos Costa: Cardboard projects such as the LOW Bar or the stand for the environmental agency were laser cut using a CAD CAM system, but usually I already know what I want to do and where I want to get before sitting in front of a computer. My process is not completely computer-based as I'm more interested in designing and using the computer as a tool. So I usually design a project and then I move onto the computer, using it as a pencil.
Do you consider your architectural practice as something separate from your interior design projects?
Pedro Campos Costa: All the projects I do are related one to the other. For example, while doing the cardboard project for the Low Bar I developed specific skills that I then decided to apply to other projects linked to product design. In my case usually the product directly derives from my architectural practice, nothing happens casually, but every piece of work is a continuation of my research.
What plans do you have for the future?
Pedro Campos Costa: I have an exhibition in Hong Kong closing today, but in the next few months I will keep on promoting the work I've done so far in different places. In September I will be in Milan to present my products in a shop and we're also planning some small exhibitions in Paris and Berlin.
"(R)innovate Tradition", a design talk by Pedro Campos Costa, Manuel Correia Da Silva and Nicola Borge-Pisani, is at Lines Lab, Calçada da Igreja de São Lázaro No.8-A3, Macau, China, 10th May 2013, 6.30 p.m
All images in this post © 2013 Campos Costa Arquitectos. All Rights Reserved.
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