Concept – Mauro Moro

SOCIAL HOUSING
Los Angeles, CA - USA.

Los Angeles is a bustling and vibrant metropolis well-known for its iconic landmarks, thriving entertainment industry, and diversified culture. But beneath the city’s gleaming facade, there is a growing problem that affects a large portion of the population: the housing crisis. Lower-income people find it increasingly difficult to obtain acceptable housing inside city limits as living costs rise, driven by rising rents, gentrification, and a scarcity of reasonably priced starter homes.

This critical issue affects the quality of life for many citizens and negatively impacts the social fabric of Los Angeles. The city’s polarization, with wealthier residents in premium neighbourhoods and lower-income families unable to find affordable housing, has led to a loss of community and connection.

Our design approach prioritizes communal spaces rather than residential units to strengthen the sense of community and social interaction. The goal is to establish as many integration and engagement areas as possible to foster a strong relationship among residents and, as a result, form an identity.

Even with low-budget construction, creating a nice house interior is overly simplistic. The thing is, everyone does it. We are unconcerned about building sleek, simple design units yet are completely disconnected and unable to provide a quality community space. We do not want to design sterilized containers for solitary individuals. More than just providing kitchens and beds (even the last dummy can do that), we hope to reconnect to the humanities’ roots.

Our proposal includes five courtyards, each dedicated to a local desert ecosystem (for sustainability reasons), and an L-shaped public area buffered from the San Fernando Road with a restaurant and a daycare pavilion. We envision an underground carpark with a specific multipurpose area dedicated to a weekly fresh market and accessible to other community initiatives.

The residential blocks’ structure is made out of Engineered Timber, has a maximum of three floors, and consists of pre-fabricated modular components.

The residential flats include studios with one, two, and three bedrooms. We developed a primary drop-off point, several street parking spaces, and a bus stop with bike racks to improve commuting and accessibility.

MISSION CENTER,
Las Vegas, NEVADA.

The Mission Center is a retail park at E. Flamingo Rd. and Maryland Pkwy. in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is only two kilometres from the famous and glamorous Las Vegas Boulevard.

The project involves the total renovation of the facade, redesigning and redeveloping the car park, and improving the facade + car park experience.

The architectural concept intends to distance itself from the caricatured structures typical of casinos. Instead, we seek to ground the new centre’s identity in the Spanish colonial history of the American West.

The centre name, “Mission,” reminds us of the historic white Spanish missions often appearing in famous Western films. In particular, the use of the portico combines the need to shade the public space with the classic portico of the Spanish missions. Another reference comes from the imagery of the Far West, namely the saloon with the classic pediment used as a billboard.

With simple lines, white, precise geometries, the arch, and the pediment, our minimalist approach intends to detach the new centre from the maximalist and redundant context and respond to the noisy visual context with a delicate and elegant silence.

A.R.C. Automated Residential and Commercial

Arc is a network of automated parking structures for container apartments. These structures store, shuffle, load, and unload container homes in an automated fashion and are linked to one another by intermodal transportation. Arc will be the first fully commercialised system of mobile apartments bringing mobility and network effects to compact living. Containerisation enabled the internationalisation of freight, and Arc aims to use it to do the same for habitation and services.

Using mobile and flexible architecture, Arc has derived a platform for storing, docking and transferring container homes to address the housing crisis. Arc is an urban system designed to align housing with the rest of modern-day technology – where better versions become more widely available over time.

Arc is a network of vertically stacked parking spaces for container homes. These stacked container parking spaces are slots in high bay systems built to handle habitable and human-accessible shipping containers. Arc’s goal is to make these systems in compatible locations everywhere and sell a form of permanent parking access to them. We call the container dwellings that can park in Arc’s structure units and the parking structures frames. The frames store, shuffle, load, and unload units in an automated fashion so that the system is accessible, habitable, and comfortable.

92 CHATSWORTH RD Residence Block
London - UK

The site for this small residential block is located a stone’s throw from Hackney’s bustling and dynamic district and presents the classic townhouse typology of inner London boroughs. Its corner condition provides two unobstructed facades oriented to the north-northwest and west.

Despite the rigid alignment of the heights of the adjacent buildings, the project challenges the homogeneity of the urban fabric and soars upwards until it reaches the maximum height limit allowed. The height difference increases the property’s profitability by providing four more residential levels and a roof used as a greenhouse.

The architectural order ROOF, FACADE, SHOPFRONT is here respected and reinterpreted thanks to the use of materials. The architectural language aligns perfectly with the context, using classic London stock brick for the main facade, while the ground floor presents an aluminium panelling treatment.

Despite the small size, the project includes a co-working space on the ground floor and a (minimal) parking via a mobile platform. The main facade displays a 3D brick texture to better express the dominant structure’s geometry.

Cachoa Resort
Lagos- Algarve
PORTUGAL

Project in collaboration with GUMMAVITTA – (2022)

G.F.A. = 2.000 sqm

24 Keys

THE ALTERNATIVE ALGARVE

A resort set in the hills of Lagos, near the most beautiful beaches of the Algarve. Algarve is a world-famous beach destination in the south of Portugal. The project aims to create an alternative experience to the mass tourism of the coastline.

Focused on a strong interaction with the rural setting and paying tribute to the vernacular architectural heritage of the region, this project will enable relaxation, fun and experience.

The client desires to create tourism equipment in rural areas, namely a “rural hotel” in the Cachoa area, close to Lagos. This vision relies on the characteristics of the land, which is excellent for hotels, given the good accessibility from the N125 and A22, the proximity to the centre of Lagos, and the peaceful rural context and the landscape.

The land faces south, enjoying a very advantageous panorama and solar orientation. The objective is to build 25 accommodation units, all common areas, reception and leisure, and a communal swimming pool and outdoor spaces with quality landscaping.

The design aims to explore alternatives based on the local architectural heritage to define the best direction for the environment and experience for future guests. Indeed the architectonic language will be contemporary yet able to integrate elements of a rustic and traditional nature, immersing with the architecture of the Algarve flavour.

Design by Miguel Sousa and Mauro Moro

Image credits:

Miguel Sousa / Gummavitta

NEW UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
Libreville - GABON

Overview:

Project delivered with a team @ SURBANA-JURONG (2018)

The project provides an integrated and holistic vision for the future campus in Libreville, Gabon and Africa. Located in the middle of a highly-populated area at the African equator Atlantic coast, Libreville represents the perfect place to settle a new university campus. Integrated within the ex-presidential palace and park, the new campus will offer a solid and valuable asset to the local public university and the local and outsider students.

The MASTERPLAN aims to re-create a place always kept exclusive by its purpose. The objective is to integrate the required new university units with the existing patrimony without altering its identity while creating a unique, strong campus uniqueness and brand. The new interventions are reduced to the minimum to maximise the local topography, respect the current hydrology system, and take advantage of the sea breeze and sun orientation.

The challenge for ARCHITECTURE is the harmonious integration of the Old and the New regarding the program and structure. The most significant issues are the environment, the climate and the available technology/construction local capacity. The architectonic solution must provide the best comfort for the students with minimal and more accessible built components, work with passive energy and low electricity consumption and welcome the local public space culture and habits. The final blocks must be easy to make, affordable, flexible, and, most of all, with easy maintenance and housekeeping.

The Campus LANDSCAPE will balance active and passive green areas and public and private spaces. Students can grow and prepare their food, and the local people can enter the campus and use part of the space for their markets, exchanging services and small commerce.

1 KIBAGARE WAY
Nairobi - KENYA

1 Kibagare Way is the classic courtyard residence type.

Simplicity and geometric rigour dominate the design of this generously sized family home. It is reminiscent of the Roman Domus, and its distribution happens around its courtyard. In addition to the routine domestic functions, the project includes a gym and private offices (with independent entrances).

As well as providing natural light and ventilation, the courtyard also allows for installing an underground water tank. The only volumetric exception is a small pavilion at the terrace, surrounded by a roof garden to enjoy the evening breeze.

The simplicity of the design optimises the scarcity of available materials and construction limitations. The massive use of red brick blocks left untouched creates a minimalist but, at the same time, rustic facade, well integrated with the tropical context.

FOREST SURF | Wave Pool + Surf Park
Sydney - AUSTRALIA

Forest Surf is a park dedicated to surfing and features a generous verdant garden for outdoor family and younger activities. The greenery is equipped with picturesque and friendly street-food vans, creating a pleasant, sociable and vibrant outdoor environment.

The project intercepts and interprets the open, fresh, playful spirit of outdoor vitality typical of beach and street life.

The buildings create an enclosure around the site, providing services and filtering the outside. A generous food court is placed on the side of the artificial beach, while the public and commercial areas frame the large central lawn.

The wave pool lines up at the site’s lowest point. This solution optimises the views and welcomes the guests. Cabanas of various sizes are Lined up along the pool and dedicated to couples, groups or families, creating a more private and exclusive environment.

BAI SHUI ZHAI
Scenic Resort Landscape
Guangzhou - CHINA

Overview:

Project delivered with a team @ W.A.T.G. (2019)

Bai Shui Zhai Scenic Spot is a provincial scenic area in Guangdong Province. Bai Shui Xian Waterfall is one of the top ten scenic spots in Bai Shui Zhai Scenic Area. The objective is to provide visioning and conceptual master planning for the designated tourism area.

My contribution to the master plan and landscape team is to create the planned architectures by integrating them into the natural context. The main entrance, the commercial units and, in particular, the geological museum arise from the earth and mix with it, eliminating the boundary line between building and nature as much as possible.

The commercial units, on the other hand, reinterpret the local vernacular language by adapting it to the sinuosity of the terrain. For this reason, they emerge as pavilions detached from the natural context and as historical pre-existences with a nostalgic and dreamlike taste.

ALIPA BAY
Corfu - GREECE

Set like a pearl within the magnificent frame of Corfu island in Greece, overlooking the Ionian Sea, the small bay of Alipa was an abandoned and neglected military base for many years.

The project aims to restore the natural landscape balance of the place, reorganising the tourist activities, limiting the pressure of the boats and favouring the natural elements, such as a Mediterranean scrub forest located on the hill.

The strong point of the project is a platform set up with removable covers which cast shadows during the day and, by withdrawing, free up a generous promenade for evening and night events.

The key to the project’s success is limiting the production and introduction of architectural components as much as possible. For this reason, the structures are straightforward, limited and open. The white colour of the architectural inserts dominates. The public furniture is minimalist and made of solid and highly resistant materials, such as white concrete and steel. The final objective is a luxuriant, lush nature re-emerges, which elegantly and graciously frames the areas intended for tourist and catering functions, regenerating a lost space and unlocking the potential of the place.

QUINTA DA PINGATECA
Almoçageme - Sintra
PORTUGAL

Project delivered with CRIBS (2021)

A UNIQUE VILLA FOR AN UNIQUE PLACE!

With its forest built like a secret Eden, the grand Atlantic Ocean at its horizon, and a crystal blue sky, Quinta Da Pingateca engages an extraordinary place gifted with all the necessary starting points for a unique project.

The modest and tiny town of Almoçageme is a village 30 min car drive from Lisbon, located on the northwest slope of the Serra de Sintra.

The first duty of the Concept is to respect the current state of things as much as possible. The conceptual and design approach aims to fit into the context of the Quinta Da Pingateca according to the philosophy of the minimum touch. It is imperative not to alter the existing balance and make the most of the original and high quality of the context, both local and the wide-ranging one of the Serra de Sintra.

The final goal is to create spaces that blend with the context most naturally and delicately as possible to create the feeling of having always belonged to this beautiful place.

TOWNHOUSE PROTOTYPE
Lisbon, OESTE
PORTUGAL

This project stems from a collaboration with a real estate agency located in the West area of Portugal, north of Lisbon.

The West region is characterised by a pronounced, articulated orography, although not too severe. The soil is very fertile and is one of the historic areas of wine production. With significant relief, the area is lashed by ocean winds, making it an ideal location for wind turbine plants.

This particular rustic and rural landscape is marked by a dense network of small urban centres, characterised by a volumetric solid and aesthetic variety.

The project stems from the need to create a prototype capable of adapting to the terrain based on modular construction and cost-effectiveness. Simplicity and rationality are the keys to the design of these residences of approximately 200 sqm with three bedrooms and a courtyard.

The rigid constructive and distributive rationality becomes the characterising feature of the design, which is straightforward, modest, elegant and sober. Instead of relying on addictions by sticking useless frills, we worked by subtraction.

Three blocks are removed from the base volume to create the three central openings. These openings create a recessed and protected area against strong winds. The cuts become the brand identity of the houses.

The modules can also be coupled and applied according to the main guidelines of the site. This way, we can adapt this basic model to any situation. Flexibility and ease of construction remain a must of our proposal.

DARIEN HILLS PARK
Al Jubayl - Saudi

Darien Hills Park enjoys a generous and extensive seafront from its location on the tip of the Darin peninsula (Al Jubayl, Persian Gulf). The recently completed urban park needs attractions. Our proposal is to provide several attractions capable of creating interest and generating profit thanks to the inflow of visitors.

The fun centre is the cornerstone of the entire proposal. A triangular building measuring 135m on each side contains large areas for recreation, entertainment, games, family spaces, restaurants, and services.

In addition to the program, the building offers the most valuable thing for a site between the desert and the sea: generous shade. In fact, the volume of Black Box functions (jump yard, laser tag, arcade, etc.) is suspended to project a large shadow on the ground where there will be a splash area, gardens, and seating areas open to the public.

In fact, the building fits like a wedge between two hills and the seafront, hence its peculiar equilateral triangular shape. A powerful volume is suspended while steps emerge from the ground, oriented towards the interior. Here, the resulting crack becomes dynamic and animated by the tension between full and empty.

The “crack” becomes the dynamic fulcrum of the system, attracting people and offering refreshments and a break for the public, who can enjoy both the view of the hills and the sea and the amusement in the centre of the splash area. A place for everybody to enjoy.

DT36 Station (DownTown line)
Xilin Avenue EASTERN REGION LINE (E.R.L.)
SINGAPORE

Overview:

Project delivered with a team @ HASSELL (2015-2017)

DT36 will prolongate the DownTown (Blue Line) as a 3-cars automated system to join the under-construction Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) (Brown Line) at Sungei Bedok (TE31-DT37) station.

Xilin area was famous in old Singapore for its luxurious plantations of Pineapple and Coconut. In particular, the use of yellow colour is also a homage to the pineapple memory.

In the future, Xilin will expand the current Business Park. That is why we chose a sleek and industrial look and feel for the design of this station.

Thomson Plaza / "Mercatus"
Re-Design & Re-Branding
SINGAPORE

Project delivered with a team @ WOODS-BAGOT (2018)

‘Mercatus Garden’ will transform Thomson Plaza into a natural, neighbourhood-friendly destination offering nearby residents and visitors a variety of curated experiences designed to inspire users to unlock the best version of themselves.

Thomson Plaza is a mall where nearby residents go to get things done. We intend to create spaces for buying things people need and creating the experiences people want.

An Experience Catalyst with a sense of wonder and excitement.

We aim to:

Help users quickly achieve their goals by adapting the retail offer to the changing habits and demographics of the community.

Create generational connections by offering experiences the whole family can take part in.

Reduce the focus on commercialism by prioritising the personal and the local.

Embrace the nostalgia users feel towards Thomson Plaza to create a place where vendors are friends first.

Tierra Residences
Surabaya - INDONESIA

In Collaboration with GUMMAVITTA (2021)

G.F.A.: 24.300 m2

The local Indonesian culture is varied, eclectic, vibrant and highly colourful. It is imperative to adapt and embrace this frenetic chaos. At the same time, it is necessary to standardise the design to achieve the customer’s constructive and commercial objective.

These were the premises for the design of the Tierra Residence.

Our design aims for an elegant, beautiful, well-functioning residential building that will include the uses of residential, parking, standard amenities for residents and some retail at ground level.

We seek to create a great dialogue between the street and the building with an attractive design language that will generate a significant impact without compromising the quality of the units and shared amenities.

The design aims to relate the buildings with green spaces in their vicinity to promote a better lifestyle and take advantage of more common public amenities.

Tierra, Spanish for EARTH, is also the live motif for the red colour of the building. Instead of a polychrome palette, we opted for a “tono su tono” look to convey the material feeling of an architectonic body entirely made of red clay.

Tierra Masterplan
Surabaya - INDONESIA

In Collaboration with GUMMAVITTA (2021)

Land Area: 7ha

TIERRA MASTERPLAN aims to lay the ground for a new community based not on shopping, tourism or exclusivity but on the realities of the 21st-century urban life.

A more sustainable, medium-rise development that emphasises quality shared amenity spaces. The mission is to create a new master plan reflecting a closer understanding of the place, the communities, and the environment. Tierra’s master plan comes from the necessity of re-designing a previews master plan with a weak vision and poor integration with the context.

Our design focuses on giving more privilege to green spaces and green integration, reducing the negative presence of vehicles to the minimum and thriving social activities. Lesser underground excavation for a more viable overall investment. Lesser need to commute.

The design focuses on an efficient phasing that ensures the existing site’s best qualities are maintained and evolves into a modern, attractive new town centre where people want to be.

The Gateway
- Kaisha

The Gateway complex houses a hotel, a residential building, and a greenhouse for folkloric, cultural, and agricultural events. In keeping with the “protection and development” philosophy of Kaisha Island, the Gateway complex seeks to construct as little as possible while maintaining the highest sustainability and environmental performance standards.

Engineered timber (CLT) will build the complex’s main structure. Except for the ground floor’s glass strip that provides access and visibility, the greenhouse’s façade uses polycarbonate.

The greenhouse’s volume is separated into three sections: SEMI-FULL, FULL, and EMPTY space:

The auditorium and the art galleries are housed within the FULL space (the Mountain and the Box).
Plant nurseries and associated research labs occupy the SEMI-FULL space.
The EMPTY space is entirely devoted to creative events, the fruit market, and gardens of all sizes.

We have diverse experience from working in the design industry all over the world.

SOCIAL HOUSING Los Angeles, CA - USA.

MISSION CENTER,Las Vegas, NEVADA.

A.R.C. Automated Residential and Commercial

92 CHATSWORTH RD Residence Block London - UK

Cachoa Resort Lagos- Algarve PORTUGAL

NEW UNIVERSITY CAMPUS Libreville - GABON

1 KIBAGARE WAY Nairobi - KENYA

FOREST SURF | Wave Pool + Surf Park Sydney - AUSTRALIA

BAI SHUI ZHAI Scenic Resort Landscape Guangzhou - CHINA

ALIPA BAY Corfu - GREECE

QUINTA DA PINGATECA Almoçageme - Sintra PORTUGAL

TOWNHOUSE PROTOTYPE Lisbon, OESTE PORTUGAL

DARIEN HILLS PARKAl Jubayl - Saudi

DT36 Station (DownTown line) Xilin Avenue EASTERN REGION LINE (E.R.L.) SINGAPORE

Thomson Plaza / "Mercatus" Re-Design & Re-Branding SINGAPORE

Tierra Residences Surabaya - INDONESIA

Tierra Masterplan Surabaya - INDONESIA

The Gateway- Kaisha

SOCIAL HOUSING
Los Angeles, CA - USA.

MISSION CENTER,
Las Vegas, NEVADA.

92 CHATSWORTH RD Residence Block
London - UK

Cachoa Resort
Lagos- Algarve
PORTUGAL

NEW UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
Libreville - GABON

1 KIBAGARE WAY
Nairobi - KENYA

FOREST SURF | Wave Pool + Surf Park
Sydney - AUSTRALIA

BAI SHUI ZHAI
Scenic Resort Landscape
Guangzhou - CHINA

ALIPA BAY
Corfu - GREECE

QUINTA DA PINGATECA
Almoçageme - Sintra
PORTUGAL

TOWNHOUSE PROTOTYPE
Lisbon, OESTE
PORTUGAL

DARIEN HILLS PARK
Al Jubayl - Saudi

DT36 Station (DownTown line)
Xilin Avenue EASTERN REGION LINE (E.R.L.)
SINGAPORE

Thomson Plaza / "Mercatus"
Re-Design & Re-Branding
SINGAPORE

Tierra Residences
Surabaya - INDONESIA

Tierra Masterplan
Surabaya - INDONESIA

The Gateway
- Kaisha