[ ROTATION]

> ATA ATELIER
> QUINTA DA CAPELA

The housing neighbourhood of Quinta da Capela, in Braga, is steeped in literary meaning. It is said that Sebastião Alba, a controversial poet from Braga, once slept in the churchyard of the Chapel of Santo Adrião. In the central square of the neighbourhood, there now stands a discreet yet deeply symbolic jacaranda tree. Gifted by the poet Eugénio de Andrade to a local resident, this tree became a symbol of unity: during the recent public space redesign, the local community rallied to prevent its removal. The symbolic power of this collective action inspired Porto-based architecture studio ATA to develop a proposal that reinterprets this gesture of resistance and care around the jacaranda.

Drawing on the idea of reuse and material circularity — in a city like Braga, shaped by the construction industry — the proposal makes use of leftover materials to envelop the wooden circular deck that houses the jacaranda. Three main components define the proposal: a wall, a structure, and a roof. The wall, made from concrete blocks awaiting a future purpose, forms a permeable, rhythmic circle — a gathering space. Rising from this wall is a semicircle of steel beams, once forgotten in a warehouse, supporting a porous roof crafted from surplus mesh. Together, these elements create an open, recycled space that feels profoundly new.

The sculptural rotation of these three elements — drawn from different origins and functions — gives rise to a new public space in Quinta da Capela. A space that may serve as a shelter for the entire community, echoing Sebastião Alba’s supracasa concept, while also offering a place for sharing and rediscovering the site’s literary references. Like theatre props that are reused, shifted, and reimagined, the proposal Rotation affirms itself through its own sense of rotation — whether through new uses or in imagining more sustainable futures for this and other neighbourhoods.

ATA is an architecture studio based in Porto, founded by Tiago Antero in 2021, born out of a desire to simplify and focus architectural practice on the essential. The studio works from an analytical approach, centred on the relationship between place and project, seeking context-specific responses with careful attention to form, function, and connection to the city. Alongside his professional practice, Tiago Antero is a guest lecturer at ESAD and has taken part in collaborative self-build processes in international contexts such as India and Guinea-Bissau. Among the studio’s recent projects is the General Silveira Building, which received an honourable mention in the Manuel Graça Dias Prize 2023 and was shortlisted for the Mies van der Rohe Award 2024. In 2022, ATA was a finalist for the Début Award at the Lisbon Architecture Triennale.

INSTALLATION TECHNICAL 
CREDITS

ARCHITECTURE
ATA Atelier 
(Tiago Antero, João Albergaria, José Cerdeira, Sofia Moreira, Veronika Vávrová)

ENGINEERING
STUCCO specialist engineering consultancy
(Eng.º João Lima)

PRODUCTION AND ASSEMBLY
Artworks

MATERIAL SUPPORT
Artworks
DST

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
DST
(Eng. José Teixeira, Eng. Zeca Pascoal, Maria Inês Barreto)
Municipality of Braga
(Eng. André Ruão, Eng. António Vivas)