At Fublis, our Design Dialogues series celebrates architects and designers who are shaping the industry with their innovative approaches and forward-thinking philosophies. Through these in-depth conversations, we uncover their creative processes, inspirations, and the broader impact of their work on contemporary design and society.

In this edition, we feature AND-RÉ, a multidisciplinary practice known for its strategic, contextual, and human-centered approach to architecture and design. From cultural hubs like the Águeda Arts Centre to the seamless integration of contemporary structures with historical ruins in the Vigário House, AND-RÉ’s work prioritizes adaptability, material intelligence, and engagement with social and environmental contexts. Their holistic perspective extends beyond architecture, embracing product and graphic design, resulting in projects that are both functional and deeply meaningful.

Join us as AND-RÉ shares insights into their design methodologies, the intersection of architecture with public space, and the evolving role of the profession in responding to contemporary challenges. Their work demonstrates a commitment to creating spaces that are not only aesthetically compelling but also contextually and ethically responsible.

AND-RÉ emphasizes strategic and contextualized solutions that focus on the human relationship with space and objects. How do you ensure that your designs remain relevant and meaningful to users while addressing contemporary societal challenges?

Francisco Salgado Ré: At AND-RÉ, we approach each project with a deep understanding of its unique context—culturally, socially, and environmentally. By engaging closely with the communities we design for, we ensure that our solutions resonate on a human level. Our multidisciplinary team blends architecture, design, and strategy to create spaces and objects that are not only functional but also enrich the human experience.

At the same time, we see architecture as a vessel of occupation—one that must acknowledge the evolving nature of human needs and the accelerated rate of change in contemporary society. Programmatic requirements are never static; they shift over time, often unpredictably. Therefore, our designs, mostly the public ones, embody an inherent flexibility, ensuring they can adapt to future transformations without losing their essence. Whether through modular systems, open-ended spatial configurations, or material choices that allow for reconfiguration, we create structures that are not only meaningful today but can continue to serve new purposes and communities in the future. In this way, relevance is not just about addressing immediate needs but also about anticipating change and embracing the future.

The Águeda Arts Centre seamlessly blends architecture with public space, creating a “habitable void” for artistic engagement. How did you approach the challenge of blurring the boundaries between interior and exterior to invite community interaction?

Francisco Salgado Ré: The Águeda Arts Centre was conceived as an open and dynamic entity, blurring the conventional boundaries between building and city to foster public engagement. Two key parameters guided this approach: the building’s adaptive form and its relationship with the ground plane.

Firstly, we designed the building as an organism that responds to the pressures and pulls of its surroundings, adapting its form to the specific constraints and opportunities of the site. Rather than imposing a rigid geometry, the volume morphs contextually, integrating itself into the existing urban fabric while creating a dialogue with the city’s movement and energy.

Secondly, the concrete mass is elevated from the ground, almost levitating, allowing the public space to flow uninterrupted beneath it. This gesture creates a permeable ground floor that is not a threshold but rather an extension of the city’s public realm—an open, continuous surface where urban life seamlessly transitions into the cultural experience within. This spatial fluidity dissolves the traditional separation between interior and exterior, transforming the centre into a truly public space that invites interaction, exploration, and artistic engagement.

The CAA serves as a dynamic cultural hub with diverse spaces like the auditorium, exhibition hall, and concert café. How did you ensure functional versatility while maintaining a cohesive architectural narrative throughout the building?

Francisco Salgado Ré: The CAA’s diverse spaces—auditorium, exhibition hall, and concert café—are programmatically complementary, unified by a shared purpose of cultural engagement. This intimate relationship among functions naturally fosters cohesion.

A key element of this cohesion is the central core, which serves as the spatial and circulatory anchor. From this nucleus, all distribution unfolds logically, ensuring fluid transitions between spaces while maintaining clarity and usability.

Additionally, the judicious use of materials and natural light reinforces unity across the different areas. By maintaining a consistent material palette and leveraging light as an architectural element, we create a cohesive aesthetic that adapts to the needs of each function. Simultaneously, the spatial configurations are designed for flexibility, allowing the building to accommodate a range of cultural activities while maintaining a strong and legible architectural identity.

Your approach integrates architecture, product design, and graphic design, fostering cross-pollination between disciplines. How does this multidisciplinary mindset influence your design process and outcomes? Could you share an example where this approach led to an unexpected yet impactful result?

Francisco Salgado Ré: We embrace a multidisciplinary mindset because it broadens our perspective, allowing design solutions to emerge organically rather than being imposed. Instead of forcing a concept or aesthetic, we apply a “Darwinian” methodology, where ideas are tested in an evolutionary process that confronts and compares solutions. The final design is not a singular vision but the result of a “natural selection” of ideas—deeply contextualized and enriched by multiple influences.

This cross-pollination is particularly evident in projects such as:

Setúbal Public Library (competition proposal) – Instead of merely designing a space for books, we reinterpreted the very function and program of a contemporary library, embedding it with responses tailored to the urban context and the real needs of citizens.

VLM Bridge – A 25-meter-long, 3-meter-high wooden beam structure where we invited an artist to intervene, transforming it into a layered dialogue between infrastructure and art.
Farmville Project – A mixed-use building that integrates vernacular references with a contemporary identity. Here, structural independence between volumes allows for future adaptability, a direct result of blending architectural design with strategic foresight.

These examples illustrate how multidisciplinary engagement makes our projects richer, more meaningful, and ultimately more resilient in responding to contemporary needs.

The White Wolf Estate is designed as a harmonious retreat that merges architecture with nature. How did you approach site analysis and placement to ensure each structure enhances, rather than disrupts, the natural landscape?

Francisco Salgado Ré: Our approach to the White Wolf Estate was fundamentally site-driven. We conducted extensive analysis of the landscape, studying its topography, vegetation, and natural flows to ensure minimal impact and maximum harmony.

Initially, the client envisioned a single consolidated structure to house all functions. However, we proposed a distributed approach, dispersing buildings across the site. This decision allowed each volume to integrate more seamlessly with the landscape while offering increased privacy and a variety of spatial experiences. The result is not just an architectural ensemble but an environment where architecture dissolves into nature, creating a retreat that feels both immersive and respectful of its surroundings.

The architecture is described as a ‘silent framework’ that embraces time, light, and human presence. What design strategies did you use to achieve this sensory experience, and how did natural elements like light and wind inform your choices?

Francisco Salgado Ré: The design seeks a “silent framework”—a structure that does not impose itself but instead becomes a stage for life, time, and natural phenomena. In White Wolf Estate, the architecture became a blank white canvas, both visually and conceptually. It is not the protagonist; rather, it exists to receive and amplify the experiences of its occupants. The architecture is a receptacle, an adaptable and neutral support where users, time, light, and nature become the active agents that bring it to life. Natural elements are treated as co-authors of the project, shaping spatial experiences through their constant, dynamic presence.

Your manifesto highlights architecture and design as critical activities that are culturally consequential. In your experience, how can architects and designers responsibly balance artistic expression with the ethical implications of their work?

Francisco Salgado Ré: First and foremost, we distinguish architecture and design as creative disciplines, rather than purely artistic ones. Unlike art, which exists in a domain of freedom, architecture is bound by real-world constraints—social, environmental, ethical, financial, and programmatic.

This does not diminish architecture’s creative power but rather amplifies its responsibility. Architecture and design must be instruments for the greater good, improving quality of life at every scale—whether in urban planning, public infrastructure, or private dwellings.

In a world facing urgent environmental and social challenges, our discipline must offer direct, positive responses rather than self-indulgent formal experiments.

At AND-RÉ, we embed these principles at our core—engaging with communities, respecting contexts, and prioritizing sustainability—ensuring that architecture is not just expressive, but deeply consequential. To ignore this responsibility would be to dismiss the discipline’s true relevance.

The Vigário House beautifully integrates existing ruins with contemporary architecture, creating a dialogue between past and present. How did you approach the challenge of preserving historical elements while introducing modern interventions that feel harmonious rather than disruptive?

Francisco Salgado Ré: We approached Vigário House with deep respect for the existing ruins, which we saw as the narrative foundation of the design. Our goal was to preserve and amplify their presence, rather than overshadow them with new interventions.

The new architecture acts as a dark theatre backdrop, allowing the old stones to take center stage. Using contrasting yet complementary materials, we crafted a contemporary addition that enhances, rather than competes with, the existing structures. Traditional techniques and artisanship played a vital role in restoring the ruins, ensuring that the dialogue between past and present is one of continuity rather than rupture.

This project embraces the passage of time, allowing light and shadows to gradually reveal architectural layers. How did you design the spatial experience to encourage users to discover the house slowly, and what role did natural light play in this narrative?

Francisco Salgado Ré: Time is a central theme to Vigário House—in multiple dimensions:

Time as discovery – The spatial sequence unfolds gradually, encouraging occupants to absorb each detail at their own rhythm.

Time as light and shadow – Natural light moves across surfaces throughout the day and seasons, revealing architectural layers dynamically.

Time as story/history – The dialogue between old and new is a confrontation of past, present, and future, inviting users to experience the project as an evolving story.

By designing for slowness, we ensure that the house is not merely seen but experienced over time, deepening its connection to both the user and its historical context.

Looking back on your journey as an architectural firm, what has been the most valuable lesson you’ve learned, and what advice would you share with emerging architects who aspire to create meaningful and impactful designs?

Francisco Salgado Ré: One of our most valuable lessons is the importance of context. A project cannot exist in isolation—it is always part of a cultural, social, and environmental ecosystem. At the same time, architecture must be an instrument for the greater good. In a profession where ego can be a tempting force, we must resist self-centered design that prioritizes spectacle over substance, yet maintaining a desired seductive aesthetic. We should design by crafting spaces that serve people, respect place, and respond to the challenges of our time. For emerging architects, we encourage a multidisciplinary mindset – Embrace knowledge beyond architecture; a commitment to ethical practice – Prioritize sustainability and social responsibility; a deep engagement with context – Let each project be shaped by all the external variables, therefore creating an accurate response. By grounding the work in these principles, one can create designs that are not only meaningful but truly transformative.