São Bento da Vitória Monastery is located in the western section of Oporto´s historic city centre. It was founded in the 17th century and is particularly noteworthy for the historical and architectural significance of its church and cloister. Over the centuries a variety of occupants have used it for different purposes and it has undergone some violent alterations, above all during the 1970´s and 80´s, when a lot of the interior was destroyed and much of the floor was replaced with large concrete slabs.
The Monastery´s adaptation for use as the home of the Oporto National Orchestra (ONP) and the cloister´s transformation into a rehearsal space took place in two phases.
The first only entailed creating an initial rehearsal room and the various facilities needed by the orchestra (1989-1990). Then, as had originally been planned, the second completed the adaptation by turning the cloister into a rehearsal/concert hall.
Whereas the first phase spread the changes around the existing spaces and involved redoing the infrastructures and reorganizing the way the building functioned, the cloister part was a delicate and problematic intervention, both the heritage asset and architectural point of view, and in terms of construction techniques and the functional – especially acoustic – characteristics required.
The solution was inspired by the processional canopy concept: an autonomous, light structure that delimits a space which can be covered when needed, in a way that is not totally closed and contrasts with the surroundings. It offers the added advantage that changes can be reversed if necessary.
The new design takes the form of a structure composed of four steel pillars holding up a flat roof, which rises above the cloister´s façades and allows natural light to enter in such a way that it plays on the granite surfaces. The shapes that are visible from inside are defined by a succession of vertical planes that provide a framework for helicoidal elements, which exist for acoustic reasons and were very complex to build in terms of both their conception and their composition.
The contrast with the remaining surfaces, which are made of carved granite, that is generated by the roof and the floor has a scenographic effect on the orchestra´s performing space and characterize what was one of the most popular elements in the “Porto 2001 – European Capital of Culture” programme.
