António Rebelo de Sousa
Alexander Laut
Augusto Vasconcelos
Architect and CEO of Art’Cittá
He was born in the north of the country and it was in Portugal’s cradle - Guimarães - that he established his architecture practice, the origin of which is a school project by four friends. At the moment Augusto Vasconcelos is the sole owner of Art’Cittá, it too a cradle of ideas, of pieces of cities, buildings and facilities, houses and furniture, from the time of drawing boards, ink pens and other resources now replaced by technological innovations. From Guimarães he has travelled the rest of the country, crossing borders and continents.
How did Art’Cittá come into being?
Art’Cittá comes from a school project, which, at the time, brought together a group of classmates, who were already friends. Curiously, a few years later, in the late 80s, this same group, made up of architects Gonçalo Araújo, Jorge Quartim, Ana Sousa and myself, set up an architecture practice of the same name. I am currently the sole owner of Art’Cittá, Lda.
Are there any traits, styles or characteristics in your projects that reveal you are their author?
I don’t see architecture as an isolated practice. The entire work results from a journey comprising memories and experiences. Pedagogical experience, sculptural practice, painting, drawing, and even music, which have all accompanied me up till now, are neither unsuspecting nor absent in my work as an architect. There might well be a particular gesture, which confers identity to the work of this firm, but everything is interconnected, as a reinvention in every project.
«We have a large body of recognised work in Portugal and Angola, the result of many years of investment»
To what extent are technological innovations important in the work of an architect?
It is undeniable that technological innovation is part of a discipline such as architecture, because it helps in overcoming deadlocks and finding solutions. It is a valuable work tool in the representation process. However, it does not replace drawing without rules in which the lines flow, working by hand, expression, gesture in dialogue with reasoning and feeling, the architect’s true signature.
You have worked in Portugal and also abroad, especially in Angola. Can you name two projects, one here and another in Angola, which have affected you for being great challenges?
We dedicate ourselves to every project with equal passion; they all challenge us, provoke us and generate great discussions within the team. And, not infrequently, the smaller ones are the most daring.
What new ambitions do Art’Cittá and Augusto Vasconcelos have for the near future?
We have many ambitions; they stimulate us and drive our goals. But it is a fact that we have a large body of recognised work in Portugal and Angola, the result of many years of investment, which has perhaps proved an obstacle to discovering new markets.
