Water Mill

Monchique was once doted by a network of water mills, going back to roman times, that made use of the area’s many rivers and fountains, milling grain and performing other tasks that otherwise would have been very difficult. In 1938 a survey found 25, still working, Mills in the council. During the XIX century and most of the XX century, people would still produce wool cloth at home from their own sheep; this cloth would be loose and not very resistant. In order to make the knitting tighter the cloth needed to be beaten while wet. Barranco de Pisoes, an area of Mochique, is crossed by Ribeira de Pisoes, also known as the black river. The 5 Mills spread along that river performed the specialised work of beating the wet wool cloth. During this process dyes would ooze out giving the river its nickname. In the pass one of these Mills has been converted to a home and built on. The building has now changed owners and is need of renovation and extension. As this is a delicate historical building, built uniquely out of natural local materials, that hasn’t been well cared for in the pass, it is of upmost importance to clean the previous renovations, removing all dissonant materials and restoring the original structure. The new areas will expand to the south connecting the main building with some of their existing annexes, creating whole new living quarters – this will be achieved in 2 construction phases. This new building will need to be built out of the same local materials, making use of local techniques in order to respect its past while offering it a future.