阿尔玛达老年公寓

The history of this project began in 1997, when its promoter, Professor Godinho,decided to invest in the construction of a building aimed at seniorsʼ support and which would also be their future home. The idea came from the design of a space that privileges social areas (dining and lounge) and restricts individual spaces (halls and rooms). The project is based on the idea of avoiding the isolation of elderly peopleand promote social activities, as well as the view over Almada city and Cristo Rei. The building consists of two blocks and a patio to serve seniors and is ableto accommodate 36 residents and 50 non-residents in a construction area with approximately 3000 m2.

The blue block shaped with an “L” form is intended for rooms and sanitary facilities, but also for the office management and reception, storage and other services.

The south front, stripped, opens into a courtyard connectin that connects the two blocks and enables the arrival of ambulances and private cars. The block shapedas a red cube, abstract and meaningful, contrasts with the “L” block and is intendedfor social areas like the kitchen and cafeteria on the ground floor, the living room and the doctorʼs office, on the middle floor, and the studio, workshop, laundry, storage and garage, downstairs.

The architectural language tried to develop the idea of “fortress” in relation to the rear and the adjacent buildings, exploring, on the other hand, the view over the city of Almada. It also tried to create two opposing worlds between the insideand the outside with a volume that can live isolated from its surroundings without defining the outer arrays.

Furthermore, the shape marks the site, independently from everything that surrounds it, through a geometrically exact volume, with two colors (blue and red) that regulate the landscape.