Página 1 de 2 |
Página seguinte
The program's layout is done with great
clarity. A strip along the southest end is reserved for corridors,
while classrooms, laboratories and workshops take up the building's
largest bay on the opposite end. A glass enclosure serves to light
up these areas along the northeast side of the building.
Above, the site plan of the campus, including
buildings as Siza's Library (B), Souto de Moura's School of Geology
(A) as well as the student housing designed by Dias.
Meticulous brick work bringing out a unique
chiaro-scuro effect through highlighted rows characterizes the
building's exterior as seen in the photograph above.
Behind the formal rigour of the elevations
- below a view from the north -, the main corridor is the most
representative area of the project - seen in the large photograph
- flooded with indirect light shining through the horizontal skylight.
Below, the entrance hall leading onto
the beginning of the corridor - the square opening corresponds
to the study hall located on the ground floor.
Going beyond mere functionality, the staircase
serves as a free-standing element affording a singular dimension
to the entire area. As a constant throughout this design, natural
light is subtly harnessed, making for zenith lighting in the corridors.
Industrial Undertones
Given these "playing rules",
what is certain is that Dias had very few formal rules deriving
from the interpretation of the context left to be defined when
designing this building. The program is laid out within a brick
container closed on the southeast and opening up with a glass
façade on the northeast. Indicating the entrance, a low
body accomodating the bar offsets the mutism of the poweful brick
wall.
In the spread, some views of the interior
of the building, threated with a great deal of austerity in construction.
Above, a partial view of the row of laboratories located on the
ground floor, where metal profiles of the structure are left unclad.
Above the auditorium located on the third
floor. Below, a partial view of the second floor entrance hall,
with a flight of stairs leading to the top level of the building.
Harsh Container
Yet this rationalizing use of outlines,
inevitable in the functional organization of such an elemental
piece of geometry, that comes out in a first glance at the floor
plans becomes attenuated once the visitor steps inside. Contrasting
the outer image of a harsh container, the indoors shows itself
to be an amiable, streamlined setting where the passage band stands
out as the most representative portion, just the opposite as what
its secondary function would indicate.
The area is unexpectedly imbued with a
mysterious quality afforded by indirect natural lighting achieved
by setting back the façade plan on the top floor. Light
slips over the inner face of the unclad brick enclosure wall,
enhancing its quality and giving the area an awesome atmosphere,
where the stairway plays an unmistakably leading role.
Going beyond its mere functionality, the
stairway becomes an enigmatic sculptural element. It is as if
in this inner space, hidden behind the severe brick wrapping,
Adalberto Dias, resigned to the limitations imposed by the campus
requirements, had put all of his efforts in building a true façade,
the true façade of the design.
<Artigo da revista Interiores,
Architecture and Design, n.º60, pp.52-61>
Página 1 de 2 |
Página seguinte
