TOURISM
GUIMARÃES, PORTUGAL

The proposed building is located in the center of the city of Guimarães, next to the Historic Center, classified as a UNESCO heritage site. A consolidated urban area full of buildings and urban spaces of high heritage value. In view of the moderate slope of the land, the building has a panoramic view to the south of the city and from its roof it overlooks the entire city of Guimarães and Monte da Penha.

The project involved a rehabilitation of the existing building from the beginning of the 20th century and an adaptation to the building – a set of villas – later developed at the end of this century. In this sense, the proposal recovers the concrete structure previously designed for the villas and integrates it into the new building concept to be proposed: a hotel. In this way, the building is organized into two volumes connected only on the ground floor: on the inside, through a generous living room articulating the reception space and access to the rooms in the rear volume and, on the outside, a patio with a seating area, a terrace and a raised water mirror. The reception, restaurant and bar are located in the building facing the main street, the underground floor contains two meeting rooms, gym, massage room, sauna and swimming pool; the hotel’s 99 rooms are spread over two volumes. The roof of the rear volume includes a lounge area, terrace, bar and swimming pool with panoramic views over the city of Guimarães.