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Architects: Miguel Amado Arquitectos
- Area: 123 m²
- Year: 2024
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Photographs:Sofia Dourado
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Manufacturers: Sika, BEGOLUX, Efapel, Light & Store
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Lead Architect: Miguel Ribeiro Amado
Text description provided by the architects. The project is located in 8 Marvila, in the former wine cellars of Abel Pereira da Fonseca in Lisbon, an iconic location where the spaces are defined by their historic wine cellars. Today, 8 Marvila has become a place where art, culture, commerce, bars, and restaurants converge, offering a true cultural haven for both residents and visitors to Lisbon. The project embraces a genuine philosophy of material reuse, incorporating rubble, wood, iron, and metal sheets, as well as the old warehouse counters. This approach resulted in a temporary and dynamic rehabilitation of an old industrial space.
Within this setting, we were tasked with transforming a former storage room and a small adjacent area into a café, shop, and art gallery. On our first visit to the site, we were captivated by its existing industrial character and realized that our interventions should focus on minimalist solutions, introducing simple contemporary lines. We sought to include a unifying element that would stand out and spark curiosity among visitors to the surrounding spaces—achieved through the use of color, specifically red. Thus, the project’s concept is the “Unexpected Red.” As you move through the industrial hall, you encounter an area of vibrant color that creates a captivating and dynamic atmosphere. Raw industrial materials were retained, with a new, vibrant layer added on top. To organize the space, a structure with columns was designed to define the café areas, creating a sense of refuge within the vast expanse of 8 Marvila.
Inside the art gallery, the raw concrete walls were preserved to honor the history and maintain an almost cave-like authenticity. This scenographic atmosphere allows the exhibited artworks to take center stage, making them the primary focus. The newly introduced elements, such as staircases, lighting, and furniture, are mostly reused materials and were designed to harmonize with the existing industrial aesthetic. Black tones and minimalist designs add another layer to the existing framework. The dark atmosphere evokes a sense of discovery, while the lighting system is designed to awaken curiosity by illuminating unexpected corners of the space.
