Victor Omar

Visual Residency Program | February 2025

About the work

During February 2025, I developed the Riad Beta – a construction of a space conceived as a secular altar where contemplation, coexistence, and the material memory of the territory converge. From the outset, the choice of adobe as the main material was not only due to its availability and sustainable nature, but also to its symbolic significance and its relationship with traditional Mediterranean and North African architecture. Through its manipulation and configuration, I sought to establish a dialogue between ancestral construction techniques and contemporary needs for shelter and gathering.

The process began with the collection of earth and plant fibers from the immediate surroundings, observing the characteristics of the soil and experimenting with different proportions until an optimal mixture was achieved. The preparation and curing of the bricks set the pace of the work, requiring drying times that established a link between the materiality and temporality of the project. These natural pauses became moments of contemplation and adjustment, where architecture emerged not only as a construction, but as a living process interacting with the climate and the environment.

One of the central themes of ‘Riad Beta’ was the incorporation of ritual elements into its design. To this end, I conceived the altar not only as a functional structure, but also as a space activated by presence and gesture. The roughness of the plaster, worked using traditional Moroccan techniques, reinforced the sensory character of the place. I also integrated a symbol with the schematic figure of a dragon, inspired by a personal mythology that links memory, childhood, and the ecology of the Murcian landscape.