Francisco and Pedro met each other during their childhood and later both ended up studying architecture. However, each one specialized in a different area: Pedro went to the Architectural Association, in England, where he was in contact with a more experimental approach, while Francisco opted for the University of Delft, in Holland, thus following a more technological path. While still studying, they met again and realized they shared similar visions: they had learned to go beyond architectural models, they would build their own machines and both believed in the materiality of objects, in the transformation of matter, in prototyping and in workshop production.

And thus SKREI was born: a multidisciplinary working group that lives on the constant integration between architecture, construction, artistic production, materials research and technology. In Portugal, it became a pioneer in the concept of sustainable architecture and, over the last 10 years, has had a close relationship with Herdade do Esporão, always showing great respect for the nature and purpose of each space.

At the foundation of all creation is an uncontrollable will to realize how things work. Beyond the theoretical understanding, at SKREI “there’s the commitment to extrapolate the simple design and to point the focus to a detail, a material, a technique or an idea“, emphasizes Pedro. And he adds that “architectural models start out as speculations of space but end up being far more than that.”  According to Francisco’s words, at SKREI there is “a form of action in which the process is of great importance, both in the execution of models, as well as in the act of building on the construction site. Being on the actual construction site and participating in the construction process gives us a greater understanding of materials, gravity, tools, workers … – everything!” And it is throughout this process, which is empirical, physical and even visceral to a great extent, that, according to the architects, they get the greatest revelations and the motivation to keep pushing forward.

The body thus becomes an instrument for materializing ideas, testing materials and fulfilling the goals of the group. And it is from this dialogue between body and matter that new paths emerge and horizons extend far beyond merely aesthetic and conventional issues. There is a cultural and territorial exploration that involves people, industry, traditions and landscape that allows for a detailed identification of the materials available in each region where a work takes place. “For us, a construction work isn’t a closed event, with a palpable beginning and an end. On the contrary, it’s made of connections between people and things that aren’t in the foreground. And these connections exist even before the work and persist far beyond it. ”

However, before reaching this process, another one had to occur – because taking risks and breaking boundaries is not something that is done overnight. As in the entire history of SKREI, it required a lot of studying and testing and small rehearses to consolidate the confidence of the workgroup itself and, of course, the confidence of customers. As a result, they have been able to build using hemp bricks or CEB (compressed earth blocks).

But what is, after all, integrated architecture? There is no doubt that it is a model whose origin and inspiration come from the past. It involves a return to manufacturing, using artists, craftsmen and builders. Everyone participates at every stage in the materialization of an idea. The work is an organized chaos that advances from the dialogue amongst actors and those actors and the materials. These links open the way for a new range of secondary links related to the ultimate impact of architecture – that is, the group finds solutions that respond to challenges such as energy production, food subsistence, food and forest preservation or the development of the industry. And so, architecture itself dialogues (and cooperates) with other spheres that surround it. In light of this concept, there is a pleasure in doing, in seeing things happening and in identifying effects, always in an environment of networking that implies a lot of interpersonal contact. Such attitude implies aggregating the different actors into the same space. In the case of SKREI, this space can be the construction site, the office, the workshop, the warehouse or even the freight van. These places can contain all kinds of machines, equipment and tools that allow for an idealized transformation.

With each creation, SKREI prides itself on enriching its “reliquary” – a database that is used every day and to which are constantly added new techniques, suppliers, languages, artists, scientists, researchers… SKREI celebrates its achievements while having these references always present and in a constant dynamic that includes recreation and progress.

Following their usual work methodology, SKREI started the Adega dos Lagares project after conducting a thorough investigation. The soil, history, surroundings and local customs were carefully studied. In addition, the purpose of the building prevailed, as well as its spatial relationship with the natural elements and the landscape. Instead of opting for a disruptive construction, SKREI decided to build using taipa, a millenarian technique used in the Alentejo which guarantees that temperature and humidity are kept at good levels. This is a time-consuming technique that involves a great deal of human effort: water is added to clay soil (in this case, obtained at the Herdade do Esporão itself), which is then manually beaten with a mallet and left to dry in wooden slabs. And it was precisely this need for human involvement that reinforced the choice for taipa, given the coherence between this heavy manual labor and the intense human activity that unfolds in a winery during the winemaking process. Also worth noting is the fact that this winery’s ceilings are covered with wine barrel staves, which creates a wavy effect that makes the space truly welcoming. Finally, another aspect taken into account was the ventilation and lighting of the space: while still keeping in mind the insultation needs of the winery, a special “window” was projected – one that allows for the controlled entry of elements such as wind, rain or sun, with the aim of ensuring that whoever is inside does not lose track of the passage of time.

In fact, it is not difficult to identify this acceptance of time in the work of SKREI. The duo is strict when assuming they do not follow the “cliché of perfection” and considers that “timelessness is always questionable“. According to the founders, the fact that we live in an era of ephemerality, in which the goods, the realities and the spaces created are consumed and disappear quickly, only gives strength to their purpose of working towards “a final result that represents an ephemeral and transformable temporality.” They thus distance themselves from the ideas of perfection or of something that is finished and would much rather simply accept that no building will last forever.

And it is in accordance with this line of thought that the relationship between SKREI and Herdade do Esporão has been evolving. Initially approached to develop a project for a hotel, the architects have chosen to plan the whole territory of Esporão instead, since they understood it as a “living organism composed of operative organs, from landscapes to activities“. Thus, over the last eight years, they have reorganized this same territory, subtracting or adding spaces and equipment, aiming for a better articulation between these different components. And this is one of the reasons why this relationship is, beyond any doubt, one that will last for many years.