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Talk us through OPENBOOK Architecture and it’s aims.

OPENBOOK Architecture is a diversified Portuguese Architecture firm founded in 2007 and it comprises a multidisciplinary team of nearly 40 members, amongst which architects, designers and project managers.
OPENBOOK Architecture works in close partnership with its Clients and Partners, providing a compelling value proposition, both comprehensive and creative, building upon the daily operation of our Customers, to whom we provide innovative architecture / design solutions, with conceptual quality and technical accuracy.
OPENBOOK Architecture aims to be a market reference for high quality architectural projects, providing a unique touch of irreverence that makes OPENBOOK Architecture differentiated, unforgettable and surprising.

What’s your design process?

We project with creativity and innovation, focusing on a multicultural approach rooted on sustainability and a strong technological support, having the architectural quality, personalization and customer centricity and customization as our starting point.

What makes your company different from others?

Through the innovative concept of Branchitecture, OPENBOOK Architecture develops a method that is based on the analysis of the culture, vision, values, brand, human interaction, performance goals and financial targets of the organizations, which is reflected on the creation of workspaces with the unique “DNA” of its Clients.

How was the idea born?

The idea was born from two of the four current partners – Rodrigo Sampayo and João Cortes – who were already working together at the time as architects and decided to move forward together towards a new and distinctive project. In that same year, 2007, Pedro Pires joined the team as a partner and, in 2008, Paulo Jervell completed the partners team, which remains until today.

Do you enjoy being creative with space and design?

For sure, creativity is one of the pillars of our work as architects and allows us to challenge ourselves, cross borders and win challenges.

Is it important to work closely with the client?

Not only is it important but it is also fundamental for us to work closely with the client. Everything we develop is aimed at fulfilling a functionality and a goal, resulting from the needs and the expectations of the client. It is for the client that we work, so the more he is involved in the process, the better we can reflect his DNA in the project and the better the outcome will be.

Do you have a specific design aesthetic?

Above all, we seek to ensure that each project has its own identity. As we develop projects in several areas and all members of the team have the possibility to do all kinds of projects, it ends up being easier to achieve varied styles within the same category. There are inevitably common traits amongst the projects, but never to the point of removing the identity and uniqueness of the project itself.

Talk us through some of your favourite projects.

We are proud of everything we do, otherwise we wouldn’t do it, so highlighting a project is never an easy thing to do. If we think about notoriety and recognition, we can highlight the law firm VdA – Vieira de Almeida, developed in partnership with PMC Arquitectos, for being our most awarded project, having won an Architizer and an Architecture Masterprize, amongst other recognitions.
If we follow the criteria of novelty, I would also highlight our most recent projects, the offices of Microsoft and KPMG, both in Lisbon. Two very demanding projects with a very positive result.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What would be your ideal project?

Any project that makes us able to combine our creativity and design process with the accomplishment of fulfilling entirely the function and the purpose for which it was created.

What are the future goals for OPENBOOK Architecture?
The consolidation of our brand as a guarantee of quality and an exclusive approach, reinforcing its presence in the various markets where we operate in.

 

Rodrigo (rodrigo.sampayo@openbook.pt) is a founding partner of OPENBOOK Architecture, with 30 years of experience. Throughout his career he has been responsible for projects of great relevance in the corporate, healthcare, residential, tourism, sports, and urban planning areas.