Carlos Seoane's Arquitectura landscape project for the 'Pedro da Ra' lookout point is part of a municipal investment program aimed at promoting the tourist potential of the Riveira City Council.
The lookout point known as "Pedra da Ra" has been used as such since the 1980s, when a concrete staircase was built to climb on the rock and from there one could observe the Atlantic Ocean’s horizon.
Over time the original staircase deteriorated while losing all its meaning. The project is born out of the necessity for the demolition of that aggressive concrete staircase. This aggression is acted on both the environment and the rock itself. Thus, one sees the need to propose an action towards the recovery of the natural state of the site.
The first proposal featured just to clean the site up: first by tearing down the original staircase. Then, move land and clean up the environment of sediments and shrubs. As a result of this cleaning, however, new rock formations appeared and made architects rethink the original project. They had to convert it from just a look out one into another that originated distinct pedestrian paths as diverse as the one towards the nearby Celtic settlement - The Cidá Castro- of great archaeological value. There is also the slope path, which leads one towards the dunes of The Corrubedo Natural Park.
As a result of a search for belonging, the project was primarily based on the use of local materials such as the wild granite, coming from a nearby quarry, -Confurco´s quarry- just 10 km away. Plus, the reutilization of both the stone tiles, so called pedras vellas, and the recycled cobble stone, coming from scraps of other works. They are to be used for paving some paths, which will simultaneously achieve a low-cost and low-maintenance upkeep.
Ultimately, the project has attempted to reinforce the flow of movement over the static and regain the tactile experience in addition to the visual. Thus, achieving a set of a unique characteristic, where nature takes center stage and the architecture acts only as a framework.
