In responding to the competition program, the project for the Main Unit of the University of Coimbra's Health Sciences Centre aims to manifest a stance in relation to creating architecture through the construction of a public building imbued with a symbolic charge both through its planimetric location and functional contents.
The project's references bore in mind the Preliminary program's specifications and some architectural elements close to the typology of the building object of the competition.
The difference in level between that specified as an access zone and the lower level corresponding to the car park roof suggested the proposal of an internal space capable of accepting this disparity in order to create a double height.
The area, with a double height, which houses various functions, emerges as a large, public, covered space where it is possible to receive light from above, place functional containers (services for the student associations, etc.), create an area for a bar and directly access the exterior for a quick link to the restaurant or residences. A multifunctional space barely marked by partitions that can provide a rapid response to the multiple requirements of contemporary life and habits.
The façade most exposed to the north is more closed and occupied by audiovisual rooms and the auditorium. The decision to overlap the two halls, rather than placing them on the same floor, resulted from their large dimensions that would have impeded the creation of a central space, preventing the transparency and visibility fundamental to the project.
AUTHORS
FÁTIMA FERNANDES AND MICHELE CANNATÀ
COLLABORATORS
FILIPE AFONSO
JAVIER CALO
VASCO MAGALHÃES
LUCA BULARO
MIGUEL BARBOSA
ENGª MARIA ROSA RIBEIRO
INFRASTRUCTURES
G.O.P. - JOÃO MARIA SOBREIRA
WATER AND SEWAGE NETWORK
G.O.P. - RAQUEL FERNANDES
ELECTRICITY, TELEPHONES AND SECURITY
OHM - FERNANDO SILVA
MECHANICAL INSTALLATIONS
P2E - AMILCAR MOREIRA
LANDSCAPE DESIGN
GOMES DA SILVA
CLIENT
COIMBRA UNIVERSITY
LOCATION
PORTO. PORTUGAL
PROJECT
2000
MODEL PHOTOGRAPHY
JOÃO FERRAND
AWARDS
2nd place selected by the competition jury
