Mário Martins

A contemporary character. Distinctive works. Mário Martins is the creator of numerous architectural projects. He was born in Lagos, Algarve, where, until today, he has been developing several public and private projects, some built from scratch and others redevelopment. He has published several literary works, with an emphasis on his architecture. To TRENDS, he talks about the connection between outdoors and indoors, because, "each element has its value (...) and they are like the letters of an alphabet to write words, a text or a poem. There are no letters that are more important than others. All are necessary and essential.”

During the process of creating ideas for a project, when does the architect think about the outdoor space? 
I think of the exterior and interior as a whole, as part of the same project, done at the same time and in a coherent way. In indoor and garden spaces, we rely, from an early stage of the project, on the collaboration of teams of landscape architects, with whom we discuss and define suitable solutions. Outdoor spaces cannot be treated as accessories or adornments, but rather as part of the same idea and a global solution, developed at the same time. Of course, this also applies to the interior. 

Speaking of the outdoors, what is more relevant to you: the pool, the garden, the lounge area, the outdoor deck...? 
Each element has its value in a given context. Each of these elements is like the letters of an alphabet to write words, a text or a poem. There are no letters that are more important than others. All are necessary and essential.

"Outdoor spaces cannot be treated as accessories or adornments, but rather as part of the same idea and a global solution”

Which spaces and materials cannot be omitted outdoors?
It depends on the context of the project. There are cases with large gardens. Others where there is no intervention outside, maintaining the natural or pre-existing space. But it can also make sense for the green to be replaced by an aggregate, or even debris from a previous construction, if, in that case, it makes sense. However, in our projects, there is an increasingly prevalent idea, which is, as far as possible, to endeavour to use natural resources and native solutions, with particular care for the management of water, which is a scarce and precious commodity. 

Because it's not just the interior that is the soul of the project, right?
Of course not. Some projects are designed from the outside. Some of our houses have a courtyard as a central space for light, shade, airing and, above all, living. The Libre house is the most recent of such examples. In the Bonança house, one of our best-known projects, an adaptation of an old warehouse in the historic centre, an unusual solution is used, which is to remove part of the building's roof, leaving the trusses exposed, in order to provide the house with an exterior space, but contained, of great intimacy, to which the rooms extend, in terms of use. The idea of designing the house around a void has made that void the soul of the house, its most iconic and experienced space. Thus, in a dense urban space, the centre of the house is created from something non-existent, to satisfy a way of living in this southern climate. And after all, you don't even realise what is outside and inside. The house is all of that. It is architecture. 

What makes it more or less exciting for you to create a project? Is this emotion reflected in the project and in the client's experience of the house?
Architecture has to be created with emotion and passion, otherwise it becomes something insipid and meaningless. A project must begin with an idea, with a roadmap and a series of conditioning factors that shape its development. A project is like a labyrinth. Starting from an initial idea, we look for ways out and solutions to achieve the goal. But sometimes we find unexpected ways out, with surprising results. This is one of the attractions of architecture.