CVDB Arquitectos they sent us this project which won the first prize of a competition by invitation for the new Cultural Center of Cartaxo. The structure is distinguished by the courageous concrete cantilever which, like a "whale's belly", projects onto the sidewalk and foyer to house the main hall.
This public building is located between two pediments, taking on the modest urban scale of Cartaxo's main square. The building has an iconographic and public character that balances the relationship between the smallness of the site and the rich program. The ground floor foyer is strongly linked to the main square of the city, thus underlining the public character of this building.
The cinema is located in the basement, and the main hall was raised from the ground, with the capacity of 332 spectators. The transparency and permeability of a porous visual and spatial relationship to be established with the square. From outside you can hear the movement of its users inside the building. A flow is generated between the interior of the building and the exterior, which is executed and accentuated by the bulging curvature of the exposed concrete of the “whale belly”.
Part of the facade is occupied by a concrete and glass screen that mediates scale. The public spaces are built with exposed concrete, slate and wood floors, thus underlining the presence of the character of these materials. Strong colors, bright yellow and red are used in the back stage areas. In the two rooms, the light reveals itself as if it were sculpted on the walls and ceiling surfaces.
Photography: FG + SG, Fernando Guerra; Daniel Malhão, photography
