Before Covid shut almost everything down, artist Amélia Marta of Cascais, Portugal, used to rent studio space in various local workshops. But when the pandemic struck, like people the world over, she was forced to get flexible and began working out of her living room. It wasn’t ideal. “I was limited in terms of tools and space—not to mention the mess I was making,” she says.

After weeks of stepping around paint canvases, glazing brushes, and metal scraps, Amélia—a painter, ceramicist, and jewelry maker—began imagining a workspace of her own and inquired about who designed the modest yoga studio she frequented.

The artist learned that the architects were from local firm Madeiguincho, led by Gonçalo Marrote. She commissioned Marrote and two of his colleagues, João Brás Nogueira Filipe and Nicholas Sartori Gennari, to design a roughly 270-square-foot studio on a hilltop overlooking the coastal town’s red-tile roofs and the Atlantic’s blue-green waves.

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Amélia challenged the designers to create three different zones within the studio. She needed a resilient surface for metalwork; a deep sink, a sturdy table, and washable flooring for ceramics; and plenty of light and easel space for painting.

“I’m in love with the round window, the transparency of the ceiling, and the smell of wood and paint that’s always present. The space inspires me every day.”
—Amélia Marta, resident

Marrote and his team created a snug but functional space wrapped in wood. For the eastern entrance facade, the architects layered spaced spruce boards in a vertical pattern atop alveolar polycarbonate, which lets diffused sunlight illuminate Amélia’s painting area. The plastic cladding “allows for both light and privacy and makes the space warm and serene,” Marrote says.

Hygge—the fashionable Scandinavian concept of coziness—inspired the design’s materiality as well as the circular window on the west-facing side of the studio. The opening offers a contemplative, painting-like view of the surrounding city and sea.

If a space can captivate a person, then Amélia is bewitched. “When I’m here, it’s as if I’ve been transported to a secret place. How can such a beautiful studio not inspire an artist?”

Follow Amélia Marta’s work @far_off_my_back

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Madeiguincho