Architecture news: letter from Portugal

Centro de Artes Nadir Afonso, Boticas, by Louise Braverman
The new Art Centre dedicated to renowned Portuguese artist Nadir Afonso is slotted into a hillside. Preserving the rocky walls where the site was sliced off, New York architect Louise Braverman has created a dialogue between landscape and building, and rural and urban. Intended to drive economic, cultural, and community development in the region, the Centre is organised in two distinct but connected volumes - housing exhibition spaces, a children's library, café/restaurant, and auditorium.
Photography: Louise Braverman © FG+SG

Centro de Artes Nadir Afonso, Boticas, by Louise Braverman
Photography: Louise Braverman © FG+SG

Centro de Artes Nadir Afonso, Boticas, by Louise Braverman
Photography: Louise Braverman © FG+SG

Centro de Artes Nadir Afonso, Boticas, by Louise Braverman
Photography: Louise Braverman © FG+SG

Júlio Pomar Museum and Atelier, Lisbon, by Siza Vieira
Álvaro Siza Vieira was enlisted to convert this XVIIth century warehouse – located on a narrow street in central Lisbon - into a museum and studio dedicated to the acclaimed Portuguese artist Júlio Pomar. The architect's intervention in the existing structure is discrete: he opted to retain much of the original building, including its facade, while cleaning up the surrounding spaces and adding vertical access to one side of the structure. He also reworked its interiors to accommodate a new public program. The heart of the museum consists of a large, open plan, double-height exhibition and work space, around which are the artist's studio, office, storage and service rooms. The project is yet another addition to Siza Vieira's ever expanding body of work - maintaining his position as one of the most important Portuguese architects in the last decades.
Photography: © João Morgado

Júlio Pomar Museum and Atelier, Lisbon, by Siza Vieira
Photography: © João Morgado

Júlio Pomar Museum and Atelier, Lisbon, by Siza Vieira
Photography: © João Morgado

Quinta do Lobo Branco Hotel, Penafiel, by AND-RÉ
Set in the rural landscape of Penafiel, in the wine region of Douro, the White Wolf Hotel consists of a series of white-coloured houses immersed in their surroundings. Porto architects AND-RÉ were faced with a brief that set the project apart from other conventional touristic ventures: to create a hotel where guests could reconnect both spiritually and physically with nature. AND-RÉ's response to this assignment was to create a group of houses that appear to float above the landscape. Each house has a bright and open ground level, contrasted with a more enclosed and intimate upper level. The pathways between the buildings have been sunk into the ground.
Photography: AND-RÉ © João Soares

Quinta do Lobo Branco Hotel, Penafiel, by AND-RÉ
Photography: AND-RÉ © João Soares

Quinta do Lobo Branco Hotel, Penafiel, by AND-RÉ
Photography: AND-RÉ © João Soares

Quinta do Lobo Branco Hotel, Penafiel, by AND-RÉ
Photography: AND-RÉ © João Soares

Quinta do Lobo Branco Hotel, Penafiel, by AND-RÉ
Photography: AND-RÉ © João Soares

Tanto Mar exhibition at the Cultural Centre of Belém, curated by Ateliermob
In the past couple of years, Portugal has experienced its largest wave of emigration since 1966. Tanto Mar - 'Portuguese people outside of Portugal' - is currently on show at the Cultural Centre of Belém, just a few minutes' drive from Lisbon along the Tagus River. Curated by multi-disciplinary architects Ateliermob, the exhibition disseminates works that have been created by those who have left the country. Showcasing projects related to the built environment, it is presented in purpose-built timber structures that are organised in a grid plan according to their content.
Photography: Ateliermob © FG+SG

Tanto Mar exhibition at the Cultural Centre of Belém, curated by Ateliermob
Photography: Ateliermob © FG+SG

Multipurpose Pavilion, Viana do Castelo, by Eduardo Souto de Moura
This Multipurpose Pavilion in Viana do Castelo, designed by Pritzker-Prize winning architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, is a space dedicated to cultural and sport events. Its interiors are ample and permeable, offering sea view options from the entrance floor. Approaching the site from the north, a square planted with trees marks the entrance to the Pavilion. The building is a simple rectangular volume, an aluminium box containing all the necessary services for the functions of the different activities promoted in its interior. The design is inspired by naval architecture and in particular by the Gil Eanes ship, named after the Portuguese navigator and explorer.
Photography: © Luis Ferreira Alves

Multipurpose Pavilion, Viana do Castelo, by Eduardo Souto de Moura

Mesh Temporary Pavilion, Porto, by Fala Atelier
The Mesh pavilion is the 2014 Porto Architecture Faculty's contribution to the annual Queima das fitas (or 'burning of the university ribbons') student festival. The temporary bar was designed by Fala Atelier, whose main concern was to create a 'light box' that would stand out from its surroundings and act as a point of reference for the crowds. Using their creativity to make the most out of a €500 budget, the architects built a 3 x 3 x 5m frame, and used a chicken wire mesh over plastic panels to create a 'smooth cloud'.
Photography: Fala Atelier © Ana Luisa Soares

Mesh Temporary Pavilion, Porto, by Fala Atelier
Photography: Fala Atelier © Ana Luisa Soares

Casa das Artes, Miranda do Corvo, by Future Architecture Thinking (FAT)
With the Lousã Mountains as its backdrop, the House of the Arts stands out both in its shape and colour, providing the village of Miranda do Corvo with an important new public space. Future Architecture Thinking (FAT) designed a building that echoes mountain slopes and the village's roofscape. The continuity between its red walls and roof emphasizes the building's dynamism, and suggests versatile interior public spaces destined for culture and creativity. Read more about the project.
Photography: Future Architecture Thinking © João Morgado

Casa das Artes, Miranda do Corvo, by Future Architecture Thinking (FAT)
Photography: Future Architecture Thinking © João Morgado

Machado Castro National Museum, Coimbra, by Gonçalo Byrne Arquitectos
In 1998, renowned Portuguese architect Gonçalo Byrne won the competition to refurbish and create an extension to one of the country's most important National Museums. Open since 1910 and spread out like a 'historical campus', the museum features an important art and architecture collection and its buildings incorporate elements from the Romantic, Renaissance, and Baroque eras. In this delicate site the architect intervened incrementally in building a new structure dedicated to the exhibition of historical pieces of art, and created a promenade through the different layers of history - inviting its visitors to remember and celebrate Portuguese heritage. He also enhanced the Museum's presence within the city by improving key access and view points.
Photography: Gonçalo Byrne Arquitectos © Duccio Malagamba