Hello and welcome to the blog Thinking Ahead.
My name is Isabel and I am the Growth Manager of BOAVISTA Windows.

Here I bring you some insights on what it is like to work at BOAVISTA and what drives us: our culture and what we love.

I hope you enjoy it.

Hello and welcome to the blog Thinking Ahead.
My name is Isabel and I am the Growth Manager of BOAVISTA Windows.

Here I bring you some insights on what it is like to work at BOAVISTA and what drives us: our culture and what we love.

I hope you enjoy it.

Micro Interview Series – Architect Ana Rita Filipe

In our “Micro Interview” series today I present the Architect Ana Rita Filipe.

Ana Rita Filipe has a degree in Interior Architecture from FAUTLS of Lisbon Technical University in 1997 and in Architecture from Lusíada University Teaching Cooperative in 2000. She also has a post-graduate degree in Planning, Design and Sustainable Construction from the Engineering Faculty of the Portuguese Catholic University, Lisbon in 2008.

She is a qualified expert of the energy certification system and a PassivHaus designer since 2020. In her free time she dedicates herself to an eclectic range of activities: painting and drawing, yoga and meditation, healthy cooking, bodyboarding, snowboarding and mountain biking.

In a direct speech format, the architect explains where she comes from, who she is and what role sustainability plays in her professional and personal life:

“Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to be an architect. I love drawing, painting, creating… I have a great passion for travelling, getting to know different places, cultures and people.

What I consider most relevant in the way I work is the importance I give to the light in the interiors, the relationship of the interior with the exterior, the functionality and simplicity of the plan and the spaces, the sustainability of the building and the thermal quality and energy efficiency in the final result.”

We now move on to the questions in our micro-interview:

BOAVISTA- Ana Rita, can you name one project that you have really enjoyed working on?

A.R.F. A house that I designed in 2010, in Nadadouro in Caldas da Rainha as it was the first house I did with the concept of sustainable and bioclimatic architecture.

BOAVISTA- An architect or artist who has influenced your work.

A.R.F.Eduardo Souto Moura for the simple and clean lines and the unity and authenticity in the materials and, in contrast, Zaha Hadid for the freedom of expression present in his work.

BOAVISTA- How important is sustainability in your life? 

A.R.F.It is a very present concept in my life. In my continuing education, in my way of thinking about architecture and in my daily choices: starting with what I eat, where it comes from, organic, as natural as possible, unprocessed, unpackaged and ending with the products I use on my skin, made at home with natural ingredients and environmentally friendly detergents … I think the work of an architect has a huge bearing on the sustainability of our planet. The way we plan a building and the way it is built has a huge impact on this. I feel a huge responsibility in the work I do but unfortunately I have not always been or been understood…

BOAVISTA- Do you prefer to work at home or in the office? 

A.R.F.I prefer working in the office and being able to contact people directly, but it also feels good sometimes to stay at home (but not because I have to, as I do now!)

BOAVISTA- What are you reading and listening right now? 

A.R.F.At the moment I’m reading “Food: WTF should I eat” by Mark Hyman. Music: Moreleubaum/Ryvichi Sakamoto  

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