The Portuguese port city of Guimaraes has been declared the European Capital of Culture 2012. As part of this event, a large-scale reconstruction of the main market square was carried out, and in addition, a new attraction appeared there - the international art center, designed by the Pitagoras bureau.
“We had no right to change the scale and violate the established formal relations between the building elements,” says one of the directors of the bureau, Fernando Seara de Sá. “That is why the decision was made to create strong spatial links between the building and the area of the square, between the structure and the environment.”
The above-ground part of the complex is a non-linear composition of several rectangular two-level volumes stacked on top of each other. It houses a large part of the exhibition, which includes works by the famous painter and sculptor José di Guimaraes, a native of this city (b. 1939). The underground part also has two floors and takes up the space under the square. It houses art galleries, an event hall, creative workshops, administrative offices and a car park.
The architects used several interesting decorative techniques. For example, the lower part of all cantilever volumes is covered with mirrored glass, and the facades cast in gold consist of a mass of vertically installed rectangular copper pipes. “The facades are made up of different materials with a dissimilar texture,” says Ceara de Sa. - It brings variety to the appearance of the object. The combination of transparent and golden planes supports the play of closed and open, that is, provided with structural cutouts. The interior space contrasts with the exterior of the building. The interior of the center is sterile, monochrome, it symbolizes the paper untouched by the slate.
It seems that the desire to gilded facades is turning into a kind of architectural trend. During the year, design media reported at least two properties with similar finishes: the Tower of Love in Blackpool, UK (by De Rijke Marsh Morgan Architects) and the Tudor-era Maidstone Museum, remodeled by Hugh Broughton Architects.
In conclusion, one can note such a positive quality of the Portuguese project as an integrated approach: the architects designed mobile urban street furniture for the renovated square. For example, we often forget about such things.
Andrey Chirkov
