ARC–β: Long Living Spolia

Instructor: Lina Ghotmeh
Personal Project

^Introduction
Long Living Spolia is an architectural exploration rooted in local marble quarrying practices in Portugal. The project begins with the observation that stone is not only a finished building material, but a set of fragments capable of being recomposed into multiple spatial conditions.
Rather than designing a single fixed building, the project studies how quarried marble blocks can be assembled, rearranged, and adapted to generate a range of inhabitable spaces—enclosed, semi-enclosed, or open—responding to different uses and ways of living observed on site.

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^Concept
The project takes locally quarried marble as both material and generative system. Stone blocks are treated as modular elements that can be combined in varied configurations, producing spatial boundaries without relying on conventional architectural typologies.

Through iterative axonometric studies, the project explores how the same set of stone fragments can define different degrees of enclosure—walls that fold, overlap, separate, or dissolve—allowing space to remain flexible and incomplete. Architecture emerges not as a finalized object, but as a spatial composition assembled from reusable parts.

During the site visit in Portugal, everyday behaviors of local residents—resting, cooking, storing, gathering, passing through—were carefully observed and sketched. These moments informed a series of imagined spatial scenarios, where architecture quietly supports daily life rather than prescribing it.

The resulting spaces are intimate, informal, and grounded in use.
Long Living Spolia proposes a way of building in which material reuse, spatial flexibility, and lived habits shape architecture over time.

^{Spatial Uses}
The following sketches imagine everyday uses emerging from different stone assemblies.
They are informed by observations of local life in Portugal—how people rest, cook, store, gather, and pass through space with minimal architectural intervention.

Passage / Transition

A narrow opening carved between stone walls frames movement rather than destination.
The space is used for passing through, slowing down, and adjusting from exterior light to interior shadow.
Architecture here acts as a threshold, marking change without enclosure.
Communal Table / Eating
A long stone surface becomes a shared table.
Plates, cups, and food are placed directly on the stone, blurring the boundary between furniture and architecture.
The space supports gathering, eating, and conversation, shaped by daily routines rather than formal dining programs.

Storage / Archive

Stone walls fold inward to form a recessed storage space.
Shelves are carved or inserted into the thickness of the stone, holding books, tools, and everyday objects.
The space accumulates memory through use, functioning as a quiet archive of daily life.

Pause / Solitude

A small enclosed volume with minimal light becomes a place to pause.
A simple surface or ledge allows sitting, waiting, or being alone.
The space offers retreat without isolation, shaped by enclosure rather than decoration.

Domestic Work / Cooking

   Stone blocks assemble into a working surface for cooking and preparation.
   Objects are placed casually—utensils, containers, traces of use—suggesting repetition and habit.
   Architecture supports labor quietly, without formal separation between room and tool.

Rest / Sleeping

   A recessed opening frames a bed facing light and landscape.
   Curtains soften the stone enclosure, allowing the space to shift between openness and privacy.
   Rest is treated as a spatial condition shaped by light, enclosure, and material weight.

Watching / Waiting

   A doorway frames an empty chair.
   The space is used for waiting, watching, or simply occupying time.
   Architecture here does not demand activity—it allows stillness.

Gathering / Shared Interior

   A rounded opening connects multiple stone surfaces into a shared interior.
   People move freely between sitting, standing, and passing through.
   The space supports informal gathering, shaped by circulation rather than fixed seating.

Washing / Daily Ritual

   Stone walls enclose a small washing space.
   Water, reflection, and texture define the experience more than fixtures.
   The space supports daily rituals through material presence rather than mechanical complexity.

Spatial Logic
Across these uses, space is not defined by program but by degrees of enclosure and stone assembly.
The same marble blocks generate different spatial conditions—open, semi-enclosed, or enclosed—allowing use to evolve over time.
Architecture becomes a framework for everyday life rather than a finished object.