Taller Agropoetico: Agro-Poetic workshop in Asturian landscape
Located in Cabranes, Asturias, Spain, Taller Agropoetico is a small-scale architectural intervention developed by Atelier Poem for the Foresta Collective. Conceived as part of an agroforestry program involving the planting of more than 1,000 trees across five hectares, the project integrates agricultural practice, education, and landscape observation within a single structure. The pavilion functions as a flexible workspace, a tool storage facility, and a point of reference within a gradually emerging forest environment.
Foresta Collective operates between Germany and Spain, promoting educational models based on direct engagement with natural processes. Taller Agropoetico supports this approach by providing an infrastructure for workshops, artistic residencies, and collective activities involving artists, educators, agronomists, botanists, and local residents. The pedagogical dimension extends beyond use to include the construction process itself, which involved apprentices working alongside local carpenters, as well as community participation in the tree-planting program.
The project is built on the footprint of a former pajar, a traditional Asturian barn, and is informed by the study of local vernacular architecture, particularly hórreos, which historically served as elevated agricultural storage structures. These references are translated into a contemporary architectural language characterized by structural clarity, material restraint, and construction efficiency. Timber framing and metal sheeting form the primary material palette, paired with simple geometry and rational building systems.
all images by Atelier Poem
Atelier Poem’s Pavilion as Part of a Broader Agroforestry System
Responding to the site’s topography, the structure is elevated above ground level, allowing moisture protection for the timber while preserving soil permeability and enabling vegetation and microfauna to continue beneath the pavilion. The foundation consists of discrete pile caps, minimizing ground disturbance and maintaining natural drainage patterns.
The upper level operates as an open-air classroom and workshop space. Tool storage is integrated into the interstitial zones between the first sets of columns, reinforcing the dual function of the building. Spatial permeability defines the project: the short elevations are fully open, while the long sides are articulated by a regular column rhythm that frames views toward the surrounding landscape. This configuration establishes a sequence of visual openings, positioning the pavilion as an observation structure oriented toward the evolving forest. A gabled roof with generous overhangs defines the building’s silhouette and extends shelter to adjacent circulation paths. The roof form references regional rural typologies while mediating between interior activity and exterior conditions. By spanning both levels and projecting outward, it establishes a transitional zone between architecture and landscape.
Atelier Poem’s designers conceive Taller Agropoetico as the initial architectural nucleus of a larger agroforestry system expected to develop over time in response to ecological growth and agricultural needs. Designed to remain adaptable and open, the structure supports ongoing educational activities while gradually integrating into the forest ecosystem it helps establish. Through material economy, spatial openness, and close alignment with its territorial context, the project demonstrates an architectural approach rooted in collective use, environmental continuity, and long-term landscape transformation.
project info:
name: Taller Agropoetico
architect: Atelier Poem
location: Cabranes, Asturias, Spain
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edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom
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