December 15, 2025 | Art & Culture
TR BELOW
a FILM on ARCHITECTURE, MOVEMENT and SPACE
words YUZU Editorial
photos Derek Pedros
On our YouTube channel, we are sharing Casa No Tempo: Possibilities of Inhabiting, a film by director Derek Pedrós, which approaches architecture as a lived and felt atmosphere rather than a static object. Set in Portugal’s Alentejo region, the film unfolds within Casa No Tempo, designed by Manuel Aires Mateus for Silent Living, and forms part of Pedrós’s ongoing visual research into the relationship between architecture, movement, and the human body.
ATMOSPHERE AS A FORM OF RESEARCH
How do you describe your practice as a filmmaker, and what guides your work?
I see my work as a form of visual research. I’m not interested in documenting architecture as a static object, but in understanding the emotional dimension that inhabits a space. I explore what makes me feel a certain way, and how a space becomes a container for stories, forming a unique memory for anyone who experiences it. I try to move away from the “cold” perception of architecture and focus instead on the emotional response that presence creates.
My practice sits at the intersection of architecture and movement, using the human body as a way to measure these emotional qualities. What guides me is the search for atmosphere: how a space breathes, how it offers protection, and the particular rhythm of life it proposes. It’s about moving beyond the purely visual to reveal the invisible qualities that shape the experience of a place.
PERMANENCE, SILENCE AND THE ACT OF INHABITING
What was it about Casa no Tempo that first captured your interest?
For a long time, I was drawn to the mysterious calm of this place. There is a magnetic quality in the architecture of Aires Mateus and in Silent Living’s approach that captivated me completely, compelling me to explore it further. Beyond the aesthetics, however, what truly drew me in was the concept of permanence that Manuel Aires Mateus has created here. It felt like a legacy of memory. I wanted to understand that silence, and to see whether I could translate that sense of protection and timelessness into a visual language.
You’ve called Aires Mateus’s architecture “a structure that makes life possible.” How did you translate the dialogue between body and space in this film?
Manuel Aires Mateus has said that architecture creates a “structure that makes life desirable.” To explore this idea, I collaborated with dancer Elena Castellanos, whose spatial sensitivity allowed us to investigate this “temple of calm” designed by the architect.
We didn’t approach the film as a performance, but as an act of inhabiting. Her movement became a way to enter into dialogue with the space itself—to ask questions without expecting clear answers, and to understand the subtle, silent exchange that emerges when we feel emotionally connected to a place. The body becomes the key to unlocking the atmosphere, suggesting that a building is never fully alive until it is inhabited.
BETWEEN ENDURANCE AND MOVEMENT
Your work often reflects on “the tension between what endures and the life that moves through it.” At Casa No Tempo, in which moment or scene did you feel this tension most vividly?
I believe this tension is inherent to both life and architecture: the desire to create something that endures in a world defined by impermanence. More than in a specific scene, I felt it throughout the process of our stay. We spent time observing how different layers come together in the present moment—how fleeting sensations, such as morning light touching a surface or the sound of the wind, gain significance once you realise they will never repeat themselves.
For this reason, we focused on being fully present, trying to document the honest identity of the place. One of the reasons I work across both still image and film is precisely to explore this duality: photography as something that endures, and film as something that unfolds through time—both working together to preserve the essence of a space.
This project deepens your view of architecture as an atmosphere read through the body. How does it shape where your research goes next?
Casa no Tempo has been a milestone in my research. It confirmed that my interest lies less in the spectacle of architecture and more in its ability to support life and well-being. Moving forward, I want to go deeper into the idea of inhabiting. I’m interested in continuing to explore spaces that propose distinct ways of living, working across different cultures and geographies. By doing so, I can contrast my own experience with other approaches to architecture and hospitality around the world.
