An old fishing boat dock has been transformed, by the architects ateliermob, into an outdoor theater on the banks of the River Tagus. It is a partially flooded area and also a space to enjoy the landscape from one of the highest points in the region.

Memory of project

Following an international competition for the banks of the Tagus River in four counties in central Portugal where ateliermob got the first prize, they were asked to design three projects in themunicipality of Abrantes.

Located on the right bank of the Tagus River, near the village of Rio de Moinhos, the Cais das Barcas served as a fishing boat dock and transported people and goods between the two banks. Over the years, that space lost its essence, both due to the nearly non-existent maintenance as the constant flooding of the Tagus (the height of the pier is +18.00 m, and the 1979 flood overflowed the river, which rose to 31.00 m).

Following a study of the dynamics of the local population, which can be characterized as having intense activity in recreational and popular associations, and it was understood that an outdoor space that could serve as an informal area for groups and communities and that could withstand submersion for a few days of the year. The new element wipes out the boundary between land and water, projecting itself on the river, and on a flat terrain it erupts in the air as a reference in the landscape.

The project seeks to recreate a place that spring-starts from the renovation of the pier, adding new collective reference meanings and uses. A new space for the local people that acts as a gathering place for the community or as an idyllic meeting place. The entire area around the auditorium, parallel to the existing dock, is redrawn maintaining its natural character, yet providing it with urban furniture – benches and tables for a more effective use by the population.

Rio de Moinhos has experienced a difficult relationship with the river, noticeable its urban morphology - from times of flooding to times of drought. Every year, during the rainy season, this structure may become partially submerse. The proposed structure seeks to reclassify the area, creating a new meeting space for the local community. When no events are taking place, this amphitheater will be ideal to contemplate the river, the landscape and from its highest point, Rio de Moinhos.

Text.- Ateliermob.

CREDITS.-

Architects.- ateliermob.
Promoter.- Câmara Municipal de Abrantes (city council).
Technical team.- Structures: Betar Estudos, José Pedro Venâncio and Maria do Carmo Vieira. Lights: João Pedro Osório.
Construction.- Construforte – Sociedade de construções e Empreitadas, Lda
Andreia Salavessa and Tiago Mota Saraiva with Vera João, João Torres, Ana.
Luísa Cunha, Zofia Józefowicz and Sophia Walk (competition: Carolina Condeço,
Nuno Ferreira).
Site.- Rio de Moinhos, Abrantes, Portugal.

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Ateliermob is a multidisciplinary platform, founded in 2005 in Lisbon, which develops projects, ideas and research within architecture, design and urbanism. Ateliermob got distinguished with the 1st Prize in the UP4 master plan in Amareleja [2009]; with the selection to the Festival of Lively Architecture in Montpellier [2009]; the 1st Prize in the New Moura's Cemetery Competition [2008]; the 1st Prize in the Tagus River Banks International Design Competition [2007]; and the honourable mention in the International Ideas Competition for the Paris Courthouse [2006]. In 2007 it was included on the Top 10 of emerging architecture offices in Portugal by the 'New Italian Blood'.

Andreia Salavessa. Bachelor in Design (Interior Design specialization)  the Institute of Visual Arts, Design and Marketing (IADE) in 1998. Architecture Degree at Lisbon's Universidade Autónoma in 2004. Andreia Salavessa collaborated, since 2000, in several architectural offices: Fernando Salvador and Margarida Grácio Nunes Architects (2000), João Santa-Rita (2000-2001), João Luís Carrilho da Graça (2002-2003) and Barbara Delgado/Rogério Gonçalves (2003-2006).

Tiago Mota Saraiva. Degree in Architecture at the Architecture Faculty of Lisbon's Technical University in 2000, attendance of the secondsemester in the 1998/1999 academic year in Madrid's Technical Superior School of Architecture. Specialization in Architecture, Territory and Memory at the Science and Technology Faculty at Coimbra's University in 2004. Invited Assistant Professor at the Architecture Faculty of Lisbon's Technical University between 2007 and 2008. Tiago Mota Saraiva began working in the architecture and urbanism area in 1995, having collaborated in Lisbon with: Paula Cabral, Segismundo Castello Branco and Fernando Ho Architects, a.s* (atelier de santos studio) Ltd., Atelier do Chiado Architects Ltd. and Giulia de Appolonia Architect. He worked in Rome at Massimiliano Fuksas Studio and was an extern consultant at Studio Altieri SRL in Vicenza, Italy.

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Published on: May 10, 2013
Cite: "Rio de Moinhos Open Air Theatre" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/rio-de-moinhos-open-air-theatre> ISSN 1139-6415
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