LEIXÕES CRUISE TERMINAL, PORTO

This state-of-the-art building sits 4km north of the mouth of the Douro River. The port in Matosinhos has an extremely important role to play both commercially and financially, which means that any building developed in reflection had to be striking, contemporary and above all, memorable. More than 4,000 tons of steel were used to build the terminal, 20,000cbm of concrete, 6,700m² of glass and 900,000 tiles in six different shapes.

Built in 2015, designed by architect Luís Pedro Silva, the complex incorporates a cruise ship terminal, marina facilities, events space, museum and restaurant.

Situated at the end of the pier, the circular white building has been likened to a wave curling against the end of the pier. It is beautifully cylindrical with a helical ramp and walls that from afar could be mistaken for shimmering fish scales, but up close show how ceramic tiles have been knitted together to create a texturised appearance.

The shape of the building throws light and shade inside as well as out, and once again, white is used to reflect a modern and clean, elegant and sophisticated aesthetic.

Porto receives some of the largest and most stylish cruise ships in the world – it needed a building to reflect this, and the cruise terminal definitely fulfils that brief.

This project received the AZAward, the International Award of Architecture and Design in 2016 in Toronto.

IGHT WINDS lifted the leaves and when the boughs parted enough, I could see an idyllic green pasture. Rough stone walls separated me from this comfort-looking paradise as I trudged on. On and on.

Yesterday we had completed a personal record of mine; I looked around at my fellow pilgrims, some sweating rivers in the hot sunshine. Some sang traditional songs. Some stared ahead into nothingness as they trudged on. On and on. Some grimaced with every step and others looked around in wonderment, grateful for the opportunity to step out of life for a week and into an arduous challenge.

This pilgrimage I was on wasn’t the toughest. We weren’t heading 600km to Santiago de Compostela or a few thousand more to Jerusalem; we were walking to Fátima, near Coimbra north of Lisbon.

Now, if you’re in the know, skip the next few sentences, as back in 1917, the country needed hope. Portugal was in the grip of World War One and every week in the square, the Presidente da Câmara would reveal the latest deaths to grief-stricken families. Suddenly, something happened near a little village – on 13 May the Virgin Mary revealed herself to three kids. This happened again later in the summer and again later in the year. The story spread like wildfire and Fátima was declared a holy site. Since then massive churches and chapels have been built and pilgrimages are on the Roman Catholic calendar. Normally, people arrive by the coachload, but there have always been those who lust after the challenges of adventure.

Enter the Caminho to Fátima. The routes are many and pilgrims walk, cycle and some (a very small minority) even go on their knees. With 84 others, I was