In collaboration with MassLab, OODA has been awarded first place in the Barrosinha Agricultural Company competition, aimed at creating a 2,000-hectare development seamlessly integrated into the agro-forestry heritage of Alcácer do Sal, Portugal. The master plan, covering a variety of functions for tourism, housing, commerce, and leisure, is designed in harmony with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, striving to transform Herdade da Barrosinha into a model of sustainable renewal.
The proposed master plan is segmented into nine Operational Management Units (UOPG), offering adapted layouts for tourism, housing, commerce, and leisure. The purpose is to create a balanced intervention in the landscape, developing its identity in alignment with the area’s heritage and culture. The project offers an example of balancing human presence with respect for the environment. For its development, the technical site analysis was supplemented with an ‘emotional assessment’ that integrates the site’s memory and the community’s generational bond with the landscape.
The resulting scheme ensures long-term flexibility and resilience. The operational units, organized in concentric rings, are designed for specific typologies, with the first one configured for permanent housing, the second featuring spaces for premium tourism, the third dedicated to family tourism, and the fourth ring, covering a radius in 16 kilometers, aimed at ecotourism, glamping and leisure facilities in nature.
The master plan also outlines a network of main routes and secondary roads, complemented by green corridors for shade and ecological functions. This approach challenges traditional massive development paradigms, suggesting urban development can coexist with landscape integrity and ecosystem health. Aligned with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, the project promotes multifunctional and integrated space use. Companhia Agrícola da Barrosinha aims to find the appropriate balance between architecture and nature while respecting history, memory, and the landscape’s beauty.
Recently, Portugal-based architecture office OODA revealed their design for a stacked vertical housing scheme in the capital of Albania. Similarly, a collaboration between OODA, and MVRDV has been selected to design an eco-city within the city of Matosinhos, Portugal, a project aiming to transform a former refinery into a green district featuring housing, a university campus, and various facilities and amenities.
