Edificio Viriato
Administrative building and Show-Room of Furniture Viriato. Campo, Paredes
The existent factory was to be extended with a new volume to house the administrative services of the company as well as a show-room to exhibit its production. The aim was to ‘face lift’ the area that had an industrial atmosphere and also make the building announce the ‘VIRIATO’ brand.
The ground to implant the new building was small and two functional problems were immediately risen:
The enormous loss of parking space and the difficulty to maneuver for the trucks that daily circulate to the factory.
These two issues defined an idea for the new object: raise it above the floor to obtain parking space and build a thin volume that maintained the minimum area for the mechanical maneuver of the ground. The idea of a show-room building lifted from the floor always brought to mind the image of ‘FORMA’ of Paulo Mendes da Rocha.
Thus, a concrete ‘table’ with ‘feet’ as the entrance was built.
The first plastered volume is based upon the ‘table’, linked to the factory, and ends in an enormous window hanging over the street announcing ‘VIRIATO’.
The second volume stands out from the factory with a brighter color and has a balcony window to the offices along the 25 m of empty space.
An iron profile holds the structure of the window and is the cornice of the composition.
The building is parallel to the factory on one side and on the other side is twisted to compete with the street and to gain interior and exterior space thus creating surprising spaces not expected in the drawing.
Nuno Brandão Costa
Porto, September 2007
