Fogo Island Shed: A Harmonious Blend of Tradition and Innovation

Todd Saunders' Award-Winning Design Fosters Community Through 'Slow Eating'

The Fogo Island Shed is an extension of the artistic and creative community on Fogo Island. The architecture forges a physical connection between the community and the landscape, with no electricity in the building to encourage a heightened awareness of the seasons, the light, and the food. The design is a deliberate throwback to a simpler age, focusing the mind and creating a unique dining experience.

Designed around the notion of ‘slow eating’, the space fosters a social approach to dining, with a long table set alongside an open plan kitchen. The new building combines contemporary forms with traditional techniques, evoking a strong sense of place through the simplicity and porosity of its interior and exterior volumes. Essentially a simple timber shed, the structure uses Saunders' trademark tilted and twisted geometry to create visual drama, as part of the wild landscape.

Constructed using traditional methods in just six months, the dining space is housed within a linear, rectangular form. This intersects with a covered entrance, a wind chamber with a steep mono-pitched roof that flares open at each end, framing the island and the seascape. The local construction team, who has worked closely together for nearly a decade, built the Shed, reflecting the island’s longstanding and intuitive relationship between craft, material, and landscape.

The Fogo Island Shed is a part of the Inn, a 100% social business constructed using philanthropic funds with proceeds returning to Shorefast for reinvestment in the community. Saunders Architecture designed the Inn along with a series of unique artists’ studios scattered across the island’s dramatic landscape. The Fogo Island Shed builds on this tradition, representing a new stage in the ongoing story of Fogo Island and Shorefast.

Despite the challenges of Fogo’s fast-changing and challenging climate, the Shed stands as a strong symbol of continuity, community, and the positive power of design. The design's simplicity, combined with its strong sense of place and community focus, has earned it the Golden A' Hospitality, Recreation, Travel and Tourism Design Award in 2019, a testament to the prodigy and wisdom of Saunders and his team.

With the Fogo Island Shed, Saunders has once again demonstrated the transformative power of design. By blending tradition with innovation, he has created a space that not only serves a functional purpose but also fosters community and celebrates the unique landscape of Fogo Island. This project serves as a shining example of how design can be used to enhance our lifestyle and our connection to the world around us.