An ethereal dialogue. Museography and Exhibition of the Panteão dos Almeida by spaceworkers

25/12/2022

[Abrantes] Portugal

An ethereal dialogue. Museography and Exhibition of the Panteão dos Almeida by spaceworkers

The proposal entrusted to the Portuguese architecture studio,

spaceworkers

, had to take on an important challenge, the realization of a museum and exhibition project for the Panteão dos Almeida, in a historic Portuguese church that is over 800 years old, the Church of Santa Maria do Castelo in Abrantes, in the centre of Portugal.

The building was built in 1215 by D. Afonso II, and later, in 1433, rebuilt by D. Diogo Fernandes de Almeida, one of the central characters of this project. Currently, the building has the maximum patrimonial protection and no alteration of what exists is allowed other than painting or maintenance.

spaceworkers

project poses an interesting dialogue with the existing architecture through an ethereal and minimalist intervention, which allows the visitor to be taken on an immersive and transparent walk where all the layers, past and present, are visible to the viewer.

Assuming that the intervention had to be reversible, the proposal is presented with a simple and light constructive logic, which is materialized through a pine wood platform, placed on the existing clay floor, which supports the metallic structures of various dimensions, with glass that varies between 5m, 3m and 2m in height.

The different panels are distributed throughout the old church, generating a new museum space, which takes advantage of the verticality and dimensions of the architecture. The entire intervention has been projected so that it is completely reversible and does not compete with the historical grandeur of the existing architecture.

Museography and Exhibition of Panteão dos Almeida by spaceworkers. Photograph by Fernando Guerra, FG+SG.

Museography and Exhibition of Panteão dos Almeida by spaceworkers. Photograph by Fernando Guerra, FG+SG.

Project description by

Spaceworkers

The museography and exhibition architecture project of the Panteão dos Almeida, in the Church of Santa Maria do Castelo in Abrantes, Portugal, aims the adapt and interior requalification of an old church (a historic building in the city of Abrantes, built-in 1215 by D. Afonso II, being later, in 1433, rebuilt by D. Diogo Fernandes de Almeida, one of the central characters of this project), fulfilling the strictness of the restrictions, imposed by the entities that supervise the intervention in heritage and that do not allow any alteration to the existing other than painting and maintenance of materials.

Thus, the intervention has to be completely reversible and minimalist to avoid competing with the historical grandeur of the existing.

With that in mind, an intervention with an ethereal and simple appearance was thought of, which could dialogue with the pre-existing, while creating a virtually open and fluid space, capable of exploring numerous visual and conceptual relationships between the proposal and the existing, making it It also serves as an interpretive element of the church, while defining the hierarchies of exhibition design, thus creating an immersive experience for visitors.

The proposal was materialized in the construction of a pine wood platform, placed on an existing clay floor, while peeling off the walls to give the impression of a floor that floats in space, as if it were a new layer of history, also allowing to perceive the existing floor, which tells a different story.

The exhibition architecture explores the meaning of the immaterial and the intangible, and its permeability allows the visualization of the entire breadth of the Church, a kind of augmented reality, layers of information juxtaposed with the existing one.

Museography and Exhibition of Panteão dos Almeida by spaceworkers. Photograph by Fernando Guerra, FG+SG.

Defying the scale of the place, the proposal assumes different dimensions, rhythms and proportions of the exhibition structures, which are simple, ephemeral, and transparent, which manage with little volume and little material, to communicate with subtlety alluding to the sacred, a simplicity of constructive logic.

The wooden floor supports the metal structures of various dimensions, with glass that varies between 5m, 3m and 2m in height. These are embedded at a depth of 30 cm in metallic pieces, which make the ballast built of wood and support the weight of the structure.

The various pieces are distributed throughout the museum space, according to a layout that follows the geometry of the building and takes advantage of verticality (and scale).

The lines of light, which run through the entire floor of the museum, elevating the space with an energetic and active vibe, and are repeated in the glass frames that support the graphic elements of the exhibition, play a central role in the entire project.

Spaceworkers.

Lead designer.- Henrique Marques, Rui Dinis.

Tiago Maciel; Fred Delgado; Joana Leitão; Inês Freitas; Catarina Soares; João Ortigão; Nuno Rodrigues; Inês pinto; Adriana Pacheco; Filipe Torre; André Sousa; João Morais.

Glorybox.

2022.

Igreja Santa Maria do Castelo, Abrantes, Portugal.

Fernando Guerra, FG+SG.

Henrique Marques, Rui Dinis. spaceworkers

spaceworkers

is an architecture and design studio located in Paredes in northern Portugal, founded by the current creative directors

Henrique Marques

and

Rui Dinis

and by its financial director Carla Duarte.

spaceworkers® were nominated in 2013 for the Great Indoors Award with the Information Center Of the Rota do Românico, project which in 2014 received a special honorable mention from the Architizer online platform on within the scope of its international architectural award A+ Awards.

In 2015, with the project Casa de Sambade the office won the Building of the Year Award 2015 promoted by the site Archdaily and with the same project also won the A + Awards 2015 in the category Private Houses XL Popular Choice promoted by the platform Architizer. In the same year the office integrated the Architects' Di- rectory promoted by the international magazine Wallpaper *, that every year selects the emerging architects around the world. In 2017, with the Cabo de Vila house, they won the Archdaily Building of the Year Award 2017.