Centro Cultural Cartaxo

Some buildings start with strangeness. Before actually designing the Cartaxo Cultural Centre, architects CVDB created a strange object: a bulk of curved concrete that would turn out to be the auditorium. It was the very small and narrow plot of land on which the centre was to be build that led to this suspended volume, jutting out over the street. CVDB sensibly chose to suspend this 'whale's belly' (containing the main auditorium) above the foyer, in one fell swoop creating the building's most memorable feature and determining its spatial organization. The opacity of the concrete contrasts with the transparency of the rest of the façade - an enormous sheet of glass interrupted only by a large concrete door. Through the glass, the street is connected with the building's interior, exposing the full height of the hall and circulation spaces whilst the prominent concrete volume reinforces the visual continuity. It seems CVDB made the right decision in opting for risk and strangeness.