📔 Competition Brief

The Site Retreat is a powerful place to increase and stimulate the senses, to feel the weight and depth of the sheer cliffs, the immensity of the water and the openness of the horizon; it is a space for contemplation and a landmark within the landscape. There are no limitations in height, excavation or extension beyond the cliff edges.

This international one-stage architecture ideas competition invites all architecture and landscape architecture students, young architects and landscape architects, and young professionals with a degree in architecture studies or landscape architecture studies (≤ 40 years old) to develop and submit compelling ideas for the design of a Site Retreat located at the ‘Cabo da Roca’, Portugal.

The Cabo da Roca, located about 40 km northwest of Lisbon, is the most western point of continental Europe. It is described by the great Portuguese poet Luís de Camões as the place ‘Where the land ends and the sea begins’, in ‘Os Lusíadas’.

When generating a vision for an intervention located within such a remarkable place, it is essential that each design proposal emphasizes, respects and celebrates the site, while providing a unique and memorable experience.

The Site Retreat is a powerful place to increase and stimulate the senses, to feel the weight and depth of the sheer cliffs, the immensity of the water and the openness of the horizon; it is a space for contemplation and a landmark within the landscape. There are no limitations in height, excavation or extension beyond the cliff edges.

Entrance *
Provide a space of transition between the natural landscape and the ‘Site Retreat’.

Look-out point:
Provide a look-out point for visitors to rest and engage with the cliffs, the sky and the sea, offering visitors a unique experience within the immensity of the place; it can be a singular space or a sequence of spaces, open and/or enclosed to the natural elements.

‘Inner Space’ *
The ‘Inner Space’ is a secluded retreat for one individual. Provide a private room to cook, sleep and a restroom, open and/or enclosed to the natural elements.

* Areas to be determined by each participant’s design proposal.

The total area of the Site Retreat is to be determined by each participant’s proposal.