Guimarães Platform of Arts and Creativity
Pitágoras Arquitectos · Guimarães, Portugal · 2012
The Platform of Arts and Creativity transformed the site of Guimarães's former municipal market into a cultural complex for the city's 2012 European Capital of Culture programme. Pitágoras Arquitectos combined retained elements with a new building distinguished by a patterned metal envelope. The scheme houses the José de Guimarães International Arts Centre alongside spaces for creative activity. Its public court preserves the idea of a shared urban meeting place while giving the site a new institutional role. The contrast between the sheltered interior, the textured exterior and the open square is the most useful architectural sequence to follow. Visiting: Exhibition admission depends on the current museum programme. The public square is a separate free space.