Arquipélago – Contemporary Arts Centre is the Distinguished Project for the FAD Prize of Architecture 2016
The FAD Prize of Architecture 2016 awarded the Arquipélago – Contemporary Arts Centre located in Ribeira Grande, in Sao Miguel’s island in the Azores, designed by the Architects: João Mendes Ribeiro and Menos é Mais Architects – Cristina Guedes and Francisco Vieira de Campos.
Yesterday, on the 8th of June at the receiving of the prize, at FAD’s headquarters, the President of the Jury, the Architect Moisés Gallego referred: ‘this is an ambicious project in architectural terms. The expansion into two volumes completes the building maintaining consistency between the new constructions and the pre-existence of the 19th century, the old factory of alcohol and tobacco. The thorough manner of using and combining the used materials contributes for the subtle alchemy making this house of arts a welcoming place. The delicacy that does not compromise the strong and complex identity of the place, and the recovery of the art of building are a few of the questions that must be highlighted in a project that brings back the presence of the past to the present and to the future. In the city of Ribeira Grande, in the island of Sao Miguel – Azores, it arises, then, a pole of creation and culture, directed at the incentive of national and international artistic residences, articulated with the entire comunity.’
This FAD Prize is considered to be the Architecture’s prize of reference for the Iberian Peninsula. It exists for 58 years now, destined to works located in the Iberian Peninsula and in the belonging islands to Spain and Portugal, having hosted this year 416 applications.
It should be pointed out that among the 10 finalists that were in contest, besides
Salienta-se que entre os 10 finalistas estavam a concurso, para além do Arquipélago – Centro de Artes Contemporâneas, mais 4 projetos portugueses, nomeadamente o Museu Nacional dos Coches dos Arquitetos Paulo Mendes da Rocha e Ricardo Bak Gordon, o Mercado Municipal de Abrantes dos ARX – Portugal Arquitetos, a Casa de Oeiras do Arquiteto Pedro Domingos e o Teatro-Auditório de Llinars del Valles dos Arquitetos Álvaro Siza (com Aresta+GOP).
O júri foi presidido pelo Arquiteto Moisés Gallego, e contou, ainda, com a participação da arquiteta Patrícia Barbas, arquiteto Eduardo de Miguel, arquiteta Maite Prats, arquiteta Rosa Remolà e arquiteta Julia Schulz-Dornburg.