Companhia das Culturas - Monte de Cima
The three R's policies, reuse, reduce and recycle were integrated at several levels of design. It was intended to reuse the existing walls. They were partially ruined and presented irregular textures, but the concept of reuse was taken integrally and the walls are presented without changes. The gentle whitewash put on it do not hide the texture and the contrast, it allows the eye to understand its evolution in time, prolonging the idea of transparency, in which you can read the story on the walls of the place like a text that holds the sedimentation of layers of intervention continuously transforming the surface. The reading of the walls where the layers of time coexist is a contemporary option.
Companhia das Culturas is an old rural farm that has been completely redesigned to accommodate cultural events. The project aims to value local cultural expressions and make use of contemporary technologies to achieve a high standard of sustainability.
Construction methods that are driven by principles of sustainability and water supply with recycling capacity are also included in the project. Old walls were kept to show the history of the place – through their presence it becomes possible to read back in time, as if the walls could give us the ability to reveal the past and understand the evolution of local culture. Some former walls integrate the new scheme, creating two courtyards. The courtyard in the centre of buildings brings natural light and cross-ventilation.
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The intervention integrates features of traditional architecture and intervention characteristics from last century, with contemporary design. Since the basic idea is the mapping of time, in an attempt to reveal the existing walls without modifying them, the design proposal valued the idea of transparency – to give the eye the understanding of their evolution in time.
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Sustainable strategies were also included in the design. As previously observed, rainwater is collected in both courtyards and stored underground in water reservoirs for use in all sanitary facilities. It is re-used for irrigation, toilet flushing, and washing exterior courtyards. The use of these solutions adapts to the shortage of the resource in the region, and prevents environmental problems common to dry regions with very little rain. From the ecological point of view, the main concerns of Companhia das Culturas are the use of solar panels to heat water, which are then treated in a waste-water treatment plant, and afterwards used to irrigate the property. Because of a lack of materials for re-use, doors, shades and windows salvaged from the demolition of buildings in the surrounding areas were brought here.
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