Hotel and Tourism School
Portalegre, Portugal · 2009
Photo · Photo by Christian Richters
A precedent for minimalist entrance design by Eduardo Souto de Moura, demonstrating how solid projecting planes can frame a transparent, glazed lobby threshold.
- What we like about this project
- The subtle elevation of the entrance on a low concrete plinth, separating it from the gravel ground.
Materials
- stucco
- concrete
- glass
- aluminum
Visual identifiers
- glazed-facade
- projecting-wall
- concrete-steps
- minimalist-entrance
- interior-glow
Style tags
- minimalist
- modernist
- rationalist
Visual tags
- minimalism
- transparency
- horizontal-planes
- portuguese-architecture
- educational-facility
- Geometry
- A composition of intersecting orthogonal planes. A solid, blank white wall on the left projects forward, framing a recessed, fully glazed entrance bay with a flat overhanging roof slab.
- Facade system
- Storefront glazing system with slim aluminum mullions.
- Structural guess
- Reinforced concrete frame with non-bearing masonry walls.
- Spatial scale
- Single-story entrance height scaled to human proportions, with a wide horizontal span.
- Lighting
- Dusk ambient light with warm artificial illumination glowing from the interior ceiling fixtures and reflecting off the polished floor.
- Atmosphere
- Serene and clean, with a stark contrast between the cool exterior dusk and the warm, inviting interior light.
- Environmental context
- An outdoor gravel ground plane transitions via low concrete steps to a raised concrete plinth.
- Spatial experience
- The approach is compressed by a projecting solid volume before opening into a transparent, brightly lit interior lobby visible through floor-to-ceiling glass.
- Composition rhythm
- Asymmetrical balance between a heavy, solid left mass and a light, transparent right void.
- Style reading
- Portuguese Minimalist Modernism
- Program
- School lobby or reception area
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- stucco, concrete, glass, aluminum
- Visual identifiers
- glazed-facade, projecting-wall, concrete-steps, minimalist-entrance, interior-glow
- Style tags
- minimalist, modernist, rationalist
- Visual tags
- minimalism, transparency, horizontal-planes, portuguese-architecture, educational-facility
- Geometry
- A composition of intersecting orthogonal planes. A solid, blank white wall on the left projects forward, framing a recessed, fully glazed entrance bay with a flat overhanging roof slab.
- Facade system
- Storefront glazing system with slim aluminum mullions.
- Structural guess
- Reinforced concrete frame with non-bearing masonry walls.
- Spatial scale
- Single-story entrance height scaled to human proportions, with a wide horizontal span.
- Lighting
- Dusk ambient light with warm artificial illumination glowing from the interior ceiling fixtures and reflecting off the polished floor.
- Atmosphere
- Serene and clean, with a stark contrast between the cool exterior dusk and the warm, inviting interior light.
- Environmental context
- An outdoor gravel ground plane transitions via low concrete steps to a raised concrete plinth.
- Spatial experience
- The approach is compressed by a projecting solid volume before opening into a transparent, brightly lit interior lobby visible through floor-to-ceiling glass.
- Composition rhythm
- Asymmetrical balance between a heavy, solid left mass and a light, transparent right void.
- Style reading
- Portuguese Minimalist Modernism
- Program
- School lobby or reception area
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture