Project
Culinary School
Category
Best Project of Public Building or Facility
About the project
The building consists of a raw concrete volume whose south corner is cut at street level, inviting people to enter. A front walled courtyard with fruit trees opens up to the sky through a large oculus. This is not just a place for visual enjoyment as you walk through the vegetation, allowing you to feel the aromas of each species, its transformation throughout the year, the flowers, the fruits ripening on the branches, the deciduous leaves on the ground, before actually entering the interior of the building.
The main interior compartments open onto this outer space. Upstairs there is a large front window that proudly exposes the heart of the backstage: the kitchen. Another window on the left side opens onto the other part of the action: the dining room.
The idea that the fruits and aromatic herbs can be used in the school itself is very stimulating, closing the cycle from cultivation of food, passing through the transformation in the kitchen, to finally tasting it in the dining room.
Location
Sintra, Portugal
Project design year
2019
Project website
https://www.marcelino.pt/054
Applicant and authors of the project
Miguel Marcelino, Arq. Lda.
The office was founded by Miguel Marcelino in 2008 who won, right in that year, his first open competition. In 2014 he was invited to be part of the official Portuguese representation in the Venice Architecture Biennale. In these years a considerable range of projects were developed, both private and public works, from small apartment renovations to museums, schools and university buildings.