Martins Architecture Office was set up in 2013 by José Martins, whose professional work straddles theory and practice. The firm is based in Guimarães, northern Portugal, and works by relating architecture, art, territories, objects, and design.

In its projects, geometry overlayed with construction detail comes to the fore, through experimentation when reshaping atmospheres. A fine example is ‘Landscaspe condition’ in the Vale do Ave region. This is a disperse territory that in the past three decades has suffered turbulences which have left very evident socioeconomic and spatial marks in their wake. This imperfect and unstable urban jumble is perhaps what gives the place its beauty, so the envelope seeks to be a reflective shell that acts as a frame for itself.

Inside, however, the container abandons the regularity of the metal box and experiments with geometry and color. It presents a mass with the colors of vernacular portuguese architecture, making a poetic spatial reference.