The ruins are the end of architecture, surprisingly can also be the principle. It is impossible to design, finish, simulate or even imitate them – they are temples of the time. The directive approach determines a method in which the process of morphogenesis does not submit to pressure and only concerns of the constrains of classical architecture, such as thoughts of planners, environmental, social, programmatic ones. In this sense we have adopted a strategy of form finding in which the formal results is an unpredictable geometry induced by the process of exploitation, without being subject to restrictions or circumstantial factors. Using a polypropylene tape and recording its behavior and curvatures, we obtained a building resulting from the accumulation of silhouettes that configures a multidirectional volume unlike the rigid conception of “Cardo e Decumanus” releasing itself from any intention, suggestion or perception of the Roman ruin and their interpretation.
The resilience of the form achieved is not preconceived and it is an open candidate to a preliminary discussion capable of introducing additions or deletions to the program, absorbing the adjustments in a perimeter form without being conditioned to the final result and because of this, within the same method, expand the solutions in a constant mapping of new settings.

Date: 2009.
Location: Belmonte, Portugal.
Project Type: Interpretative Centre of Villa Fornea Roman Ruins
Project Area: 600m2
Promoter: Municipality of Belmonte.
Concept: Arquitectos Anónimos® + Paulo Celso Monteiro
Project: Arquitectos Anónimos®.
Design Team: Arquitectos Anónimos®,
Hugo Reis, Julien Rondot, Luís Fernandes, Nicolau Ribas.
Archaeology: Arqueohoje Lda + Pedro Sobral Carvalho
Museology: Paulo Celso Monteiro
Photography: Sofia Soares
Images and Renders: Arquitectos Anónimos®.