Revealing the Place: Sacred Architecture along the Portuguese Coastline

Revealing the place addresses referential role of sacred architecture elements that dot Portuguese Atlantic coastline in contemporary architectural pedagogy and practice architecture. The long coastline, case study research, is dotted with elements—sanctuaries, churches, chapels crosses—oriented according to both compositional canonical cosmological principles. character space articulation between land sea made evident by tension landscape. This paper this relation, resorting decomposition interpretative drawings arguments uncover formal relationships landscape, proposing an reading built combines type place. Furthermore, it discusses transposition composition principles from secular architecture, building analogy for typological transfer process, considering transference existing qualities projects. hypothesis discussed decoding landscape remains useful Finally, evidenced exercise allows us relations established buildings practice, revealing topos.