Baião Municipal Library - Architecture Photography
The main premises behind the project were: the functional conversion of the pre-existing building (a former elementary school), the fusion of past and present, the functional versatility of the equipment, the creation of tensions between new and old, between full and empty, between open and closed. Always based on respect for the past and the present, but with an eye to the future.
Functionally, the main entrance to the library is at the entrance to the old school, the building where so many generations studied. It seemed to make sense to keep the entrance almost as a way of paying homage to past generations, but also to current and future ones, bringing the past into the present and projecting it into the future. New generations will follow previous generations and will also come here to acquire knowledge. The reception serves as the heart of the facility. It provides access to all the spaces. Opposite is the bar with terrace, to the left the administrative services and to the right the training room, exhibition space and small auditorium. A cluster of vertical entrances gives access to the upper floor where the adults' section is located, which allows you to contemplate the silhouette of the mountains on the horizon (recalling the imagery of Eça's "The City and the Mountains"), and on the lower floor is the children's section, which can be connected to the garden to enable various educational activities.
A second entrance had to be created to allow access for people with walking difficulties. This second entrance also responds to the conceptual premise of the equipment's versatility, as it allows it to have other uses at times when the Library is closed. It provides access to an exhibition space, a small auditorium, a training room and a support bar, allowing for a wide range of cultural events. This building is also intended to be a space for the arts and culture. A place for meeting and socializing. The old elementary school building has a strong relationship with the avenue and the new body opens up to the landscape to the north. Opening up to the north also makes reading and consulting documents comfortable, as there are times when reading can be done naturally without the need for artificial light.
The two bodies merge into a single entity, and this is achieved through the use of the same materials that cover the interior and exterior of the two volumes, which although distant in time are close in their materiality and immateriality. They contrast without being contrasting. Like the people who live in this region, who are extremely open, frank, hospitable and transparent, the building was designed with large windows and lots of light. A frank and honest work.
This project has materialized into a building full of meaning, which will endure through time, carrying with it our memory and our memories.
