Keeper’s House
Ponta Delgada, Azores
The Keeper’s House is the entrance building to one of the most important gardens in Ponta Delgada.
The lower floor contains an information desk, which also serves as a ticket office for special occasions. On the upper floor is an observation post overlooking the garden, where the garden keeper is stationed.
Whenever the keeper takes up his position, the shutter of the observation post must open. To activate the mechanism, he sits on a small seat connected to a pulley system. It is the keeper’s weight (132 kg) that sets the mechanism in motion, raising the shutter and providing a panoramic view across the entire perimeter of the park. When he stands up, the mechanism reverses, lowering the shutter and closing the window.
The mechanism makes the keeper’s presence (or absence) immediately legible from anywhere in the garden.
