Belém Clube
The intervention aims to transform an existing vacant building into the new headquarters of Belém Clube – a recreational and cultural association founded in 1889 and with its current headquarters in the old Luís de Camões Theatre.
Previously defined by the contracting entity that the new building should contain different functional areas, such as: auditorium/multifunctional room, bar, meeting rooms, board room, library/computer room, activities room, trophy area, dressing room, artists sanitary facilities, sound and light cabin and storage. After a preliminary meeting with IGAC (Authority for the Performance Arts) it was clear that the main issue to be addressed in the existing building’s adaptation into concert hall/theatre room would be, in case of a performance the question of noise inside-out and vice versa. The original building’s perimeter was kept and a new functional volume as added, replacing the original roof, with enough mass and volume to work as an “acoustic lid”. The new volume incorporates the inherit activities of everyday life of Belém Clube, such as: meeting room, board room, library/computer room activities room, trophy area and a multifunctional room. On this first level there is also a public area containing the lavatories and a technical area.
The auditorium/multifunctional room and bar are on the ground-floor. These areas can be accessed by associates and non-associates and is directly related with the main street – Rua da Junqueira. This space has as its main feature to be a wide nave with 4,60 m tall. On its interior there is an autonomous volume that contains specific technical and functional areas, such as the elevator and the bar area. Along part of the west façade and to bring some order to the space, a volume as created that contains the stairs that connect both levels, technical areas, storage and the dressing room, which connect directly to the proposed performance stage. The proposed volume is coated with a sandwich panel with thermal insulation and acoustic properties cladded from the outside in white zinc.
