Articles Recognitions

Spotlight: Fernando Flora

Fernando joined the Fragmentos team in 2003 and in 2016 took on the role of project coordinator. Two years later, became one of the associate architects. Read the full bio here.

 

You studied in Brazil. How did this experience come to pass? 

Yes, I lived in São Paulo for five years when I was a teenager, and it was an incredible experience of enormous personal growth.

Designing a new project or rehabilitating a space? 

Do I really have to choose? (laughs) I like both. Very different challenges, but both necessary.

What are the three projects that most challenged you?

ISP, due to the scale versus the experience I had at the time, not so much in terms of architecture, but more due to the multidisciplinary learning and the work. Due to the short implementation time, I’ll highlight Salitre 191, a restoration in the centre of Lisbon with a lot of openness on the part of the client, but with demanding constraints. Finally, Sublime Comporta Villas, due to its size, architecture, team and coordination.

The architect likes to see Comporta as a unique, preserved and sustainable place. How has that influenced your designs? 

Weighing up what we present to the client, I like to respond to the request that is made of us, but I always think about the footprint we leave behind. Comporta increasingly needs this kind of attention because it was “discovered” so recently and for this reason it will have to keep its magic for the future.

You recently developed a large project in Mexico. Does the future of the studio involve conquering new markets? 

Yes, this experience is interesting precisely for the exchange of cultural impressions. I believe that the architect's practice should be to respond to any challenge proposed. Mexico is an exuberant country, where the climate and architecture are striking. Thinking about projects in realities that are so different from our own, they represent opportunities to be conquered.

Fernando joined the Fragmentos team in 2003 and in 2016 took on the role of project coordinator. Two years later, became one of the associate architects. Read the full bio here.

 

You studied in Brazil. How did this experience come to pass? 

Yes, I lived in São Paulo for five years when I was a teenager, and it was an incredible experience of enormous personal growth.

Designing a new project or rehabilitating a space? 

Do I really have to choose? (laughs) I like both. Very different challenges, but both necessary.

What are the three projects that most challenged you?

ISP, due to the scale versus the experience I had at the time, not so much in terms of architecture, but more due to the multidisciplinary learning and the work. Due to the short implementation time, I’ll highlight Salitre 191, a restoration in the centre of Lisbon with a lot of openness on the part of the client, but with demanding constraints. Finally, Sublime Comporta Villas, due to its size, architecture, team and coordination.

The architect likes to see Comporta as a unique, preserved and sustainable place. How has that influenced your designs? 

Weighing up what we present to the client, I like to respond to the request that is made of us, but I always think about the footprint we leave behind. Comporta increasingly needs this kind of attention because it was “discovered” so recently and for this reason it will have to keep its magic for the future.

You recently developed a large project in Mexico. Does the future of the studio involve conquering new markets? 

Yes, this experience is interesting precisely for the exchange of cultural impressions. I believe that the architect's practice should be to respond to any challenge proposed. Mexico is an exuberant country, where the climate and architecture are striking. Thinking about projects in realities that are so different from our own, they represent opportunities to be conquered.