© Nelson Garrido
Smooth, white rendered facades are commonplace throughout the southern Portuguese region of Alentejo. In terms of colour and structure the new meeting centre that the architects Aires Mateus designed for an old person’s home in the small town of Grândola adheres closely to this established tradition. However, the form of the new building – abstract, cubist, without projecting eaves and with a minimum of visible details – represents a radical break with the neighbourhood.