Project Description

The intervention of rehabilitation and expansion of the Municipal Market of Famalicão had, among others, as a premise the rehabilitation of the original buildings of the mid-twentieth century and the demolition of alterations and clearly dissonant buildings, as a guarantee of preserving the authenticity and appreciation of the work.

Due to the intervention program, there was a need to expand it, not using a copy of the original building, but through a clearly contemporary metallic structure, integrated in the pre-existence with the aesthetic references of elements of the original buildings and ensuring the improvement of existing conditions. The original building was completely restored from the outside, with the interior of the commercial spaces being remodeled and adapted to contemporary needs, always with the concern of integration into the existing one.

At a structural level, the wooden roof structure of the original building was preserved, using traditional techniques as well as its tile covering. Likewise, the concrete structure was safeguarded and the cladding of the exterior walls and façade elements were restored. Examples of this are the tile murals and the iron exterior window frames. Paradoxically, the innovation of the intervention in the original building was the use of traditional techniques, which in itself is less common.

On the other hand, the new metallic structure, despite having aesthetic references of the original building, due to its size and complexity, was a technical challenge requiring the use of innovative construction and design systems and innovating techniques, as was the wind tunnel, for the structural validation of the intervention.