S. Brás de Alportel Parish Council: character and contemporaneity
Photography by © Maria João Gala
For the new building of the Parish Council of São Brás de Alportel, the challenge was to add new features to the building now proposed. The old headquarters had a purely administrative character, while the new project now allows for a wide enjoyment by the general population. In this sense, several multipurpose rooms were created so that they can be used for training actions, workshops, conferences and events, among other functions.
The building’s design is characterized by horizontality and a strong institutional character. The “blind” entrance volume contributes to this, which, being taller than the rest of the building, vehemently marks its entrance.
Natural lighting plays a leading role in this project, providing special comfort in the daily use of the building, but ensuring that direct sunlight exposure is controlled in order to provide thermal comfort to users. For this control, generous canopies and shading volumes were used.
As the building is located in a perfectly consolidated urban area, on the ground floor level, it is also surrounded by a garden space, which provides an assumed visual barrier between the interior and exterior, thus creating a transitional space and providing employees with, who experience the space on a daily basis, an additional visual comfort.
