Session 03
CAA's/Águeda Arts Centre architecture responds to the challenge of designing a solution adapted to the context - not only physical and urban, but also cultural, economic and political - while seeking to create a relevant and world-class cultural platform. The objective and rational approach to the program resulted in the design of a system that maximizes functionality. The building, with 4,500sqm, is embodied in three dynamic forces, which house and organize the three main valences of the internal program - the auditorium with 600 seats, the exhibition hall and the café concert - spreading from a nucleus distribution center.
Architecture Tour + Live Talk
The architecture that formalizes the building is stripped of iconic artificiality, without losing the institutional relevance that the equipment deserves. It tries to reach a fusion between the pragmatic technique of execution and the poetic of space, which takes the visitor on a journey through the built body, understood both as a receptacle and a generator of culture. Águeda Arts Centre was carried out in the peak of the financial crisis, requiring a new strategic practice and an extra effort by everyone involved in the making. The challenge was to achieve the best possible solution with a limited budget, aiming for the creation of a public relevant infrastructure, without losing quality and integrity, one that could promote culture, engage with the citizens and elevate the city through its cultural relevance.