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Opera Design Matters came out of the merger of JSTC and OPR, architecture firms based in Lisbon and Barcelona. It is led by José Soalheiro (1960), Teresa Castro (1952) and Carlos Infantes (1971).[But what is ODM?]
Contents
Projects
Amongst a wide scope of projects of different program, scale and location, selected projects include "Alto do Parque"(1999, Lisbon, Portugal), "University of Minho (Universidade do Minho) Healthcare Science School" (2000, Braga, Portugal), "Forum Brandoa Civic Centre"(2003, Brandoa, Portugal), "Plaza Encarnacion Redevelopment" (2003, Seville, Spain), "Justice Campus" (2008, Madrid, Spain), and more recently the "Parque Valdebebas" (2009, Valdebebas, Madrid, Spain) that is currently in process- they won the competition with Bet Figueras and PROAP with a proposal entitled "Sol y Sombra" (Sun and Shadow). This team presented a project in which the new city serves as a balcony overlooking a great natural space defined by two natural areas: the higher ground, covered with a dense forest, and the streambed area, near the new development, with small lakes.
Parque de Valdebebas is a new urban area with an extension of nearly 11 million square metres. Situated in the northeast quadrant within the municipal limits of the City of Madrid, it is bordered to the east by Terminal 4 at Madrid-Barajas International Airport and to the south by IFEMA, Madrid's trade fair complex. The development features a number of large-scale development projects, including the Valdebebas Woodland Park; the future Justice Campus of the Community of Madrid; the extension of IFEMA; and Real Madrid's Sports Complex. Along with these development partners, 1.2 million square metres of office and hotel space and 12,000 housing units, of which 45% will have some kind of government protection, will be developed.
They also have a large collection of unbuilt and research work that has developed from both formal and parametric design fields.
Landscape
The firm has several branches dealing with different areas of design. Opera Landscape is dedicated to create a fertile ground both for the natural and the artificial to interact within an intelligent design. This group is led by Portuguese landscape architect Vânia Lopes.
Recent Awards
3rd prize for the international competition of Alcalá de los Gazules, Cadiz, Spain, 2010
1st prize for the ideas competition for Valdebebas Park, Madrid, Spain, 2009 ( in partnership with PROAP and Bet Figueras)
1st prize for the Santarém Strategic Project of the riverside area - Real Estate National Portuguese Awards 2009 - Urban development category