Location: Santo Tirso, Portugal.

Architect: Álvaro Siza Vieira.

The Municipality of Santo Tirso is proposing the construction of the International Contemporary Sculpture Museum (MIEC) and rehabilitation of the Municipal Museum Abade Pedrosa (MMAP) on the site it owns. The design of the new museum takes into account the exception site, the surrounding environment, and the Monastery of So Bento. The connection between the two buildings is punctual and allows to keep them independent in form and language. The new museum has an area of 2156.83 sqm and confronts the Agricultural Professional School Conde S. Bento and Santo Tirso Municipality. The design of the new museum takes into account the exception site, the surrounding environment, and the Monastery of So Bento. The new museum MIEC develops parallel to the existing north wall, releasing the south area to the promenade that faces the street Unisco Godiniz. The layout resolves the transition height between the base of both buildings in the confrontation with ‘Misericórdia of Santo Tirso’ building, creating a fire emergency way from level -1 to public road, and introducing natural light to the exhibition spaces on level -1. The main floor is arranged after the atrium in the following order: the shop, cafeteria, administration, documentation center, and storage and archive rooms. The level -1 develops in the following way: the second multi-purpose exhibition area, the study and recreation area, public toilets, technical area and archive, and technical room reserved for mechanical building installations. The Municipal Museum Abade Pedrosa is located in the former guesthouse of the Monastery of So Bento, located on the north side of Santo Tirso near the River Ave. It consists of concrete walls coated inside with high density plasterboard, ETICS system with high density mineral wool, granite paneling, interior walls made of high density gypsum with metal partitioning, slabs mixed of reinforced concrete on iron profiles, waterproofed outdoor decks in Caverneira yellow granite, window frames made of wood with double glazing, and a surface treatment using ceramic tiles. All areas will be properly waterproofed and insulated, and the outdoor decks will be in Caverneira yellow granite. The building is organized by a corridor and several rooms with specific links between them, with walls plastered with mortar clay painted white. The South Elevation has a monumental coat of Order of So Bento.

Photo credit: João Morgado – Architecture Photography.