MEGALITHIC MUSEUM

CVDB

PORTUGAL

PROJECT DETAILS:

Team: CVDB Arquitectos Associados e/and Tiago Filipe Santos Architecture - Authorship & Co-ordination: Cristina Veríssimo Diogo Burnay Tiago Filipe Santos Architecture - Collaboration: Joana Barrelas Rodolfo Reis Eliza Borkowska Elizabeta Vito Hugo Nascimento Ilaria Anselmi Magdalena Czapluk Exhibition Project: P-06 Atelier e/and Site Specific Arquitectura Project manager: Nuno Gusmão e/and Paulo Costa Development: Pedro Anjos (design) e/and Simão Botelho (arquitectura) Landscape Architecture: Bound, arquitectos paisagistas - Arq.ª Maria João Fonseca e/and Arq.º Armando Ferreira Museology Consultant: Prof.ª Dra. Leonor Rocha Engineering: Projectual Location: Mora - Portugal Client: Mora Municipality Procedure: International Public Competition – 1st prize Chronology: Competition – 2012 Project – 2013 Construction – 2016 Construction Built Area: 1.200,00 m²/sqm Landscape Area: 1.100,00 m²/sqm Total Construction Cost: 2.200.000,00 Euros Photography: Fernando Guerra | FG+SG

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The Megalithic Museum is located at Mora’s urban centre, close to a future public park. The town and region, are well known for its archaeological findings. The museum intendeds to be a local and national reference and an important asset to the cultural regeneration of the town.

The old train station in Mora is an iconic building that is part of the town heritage. The building is deeply rooted in the long-lasting collective memory of Mora’ inhabitants and visitors. The project clarifies and enhances the architectural value of the existing buildings, in a gesture of careful refurbishment.

The museum complex integrates the old train station, its warehouse and two new buildings. The new buildings are the main exhibition area (West) and a cafeteria (East). The four buildings are connected through a continuous outdoor gallery that is located along the north side of the site. The gallery resembles the linearity of the old train station dock. The gallery is the element that conceptually unifies the project, solving the circulation and the relation between all the different programmes.

The main entrance is located at the old train station building as well as the library, IT room and administration areas. The warehouse was transformed into a multipurpose open space, being mainly an education workshop area. The design, materials and techniques used in the refurbishment process respect the character of the existing constructions.

The Metallic white panels that rap around the gallery space and the new buildings, were cut out with a geometrical pattern that is an interpretation of Megalithic iconography - a conceptual leitmotif - that aggregates the project and bring light into the space through the day. At night, the museum glows in the dark.