The building is situated next to Avenida do Atlântico in Viana do Castelo in Portugal. An avenue facing the sea, where a series of buildings are constructed, that, on a first impression, the urban front, in which the building is inserted, transmits a rather insipid image due to the nature of the programs and options used in its projects. A characteristic which has become an asset in the conceptualization of the project for The Atlantic Pavilion.
Besides catering to the neeed of the City Council of Viana do Castelo to have a sports pavilion, it gives support to the EB 2,3 Pedro Barbosa School and complementary use to the community to develop various modalities and is adjacent to the county’s objectives of expanding the population’s possibilities to practice sports activities in covered facilities.
Due to the necessity of a strong financial control and to endow the thought of building infrastructures for future easy access maintenance, the global cost of the work was restricted in a pre-established value by the City Council of Viana do Castelo. Demands which became a true challenge in the way of thinking to respond to what was requested. Hence, the use of the brutalist image in the project without being taken to extremes, perceptible in the change rooms and sports field.
It was with this intention that designed a pavilion, reflecting the various program and budget demands with an appealing dynamic and humanized image, minimizing the common impact in these types of buildings.
Due to the limited land, the project occupies practically the whole area. The dimension of the programme was developed on a floor at ground floor level with a secondary storage area. The surface for the practicing of sports is 650 m2 (mainly for volleyball and basketball) with a height of 7.50m, with 4 independent blocks of change rooms, 2 blocks for the athletes, each one with a capacity for 15 to 20 sportsmen and another 2 for coaches and referees.
In the union of the two bodies, the main entrance has been developed, where 50/80 people can wait until they find their seats. In the entrance area, a reception, a surveillance post, a cafeteria which operates punctually according to necessity, a technical support area, sanitary facilities for males and females as well as for those with reduced mobility can be found.
Volumetrically, the pavilion, in general terms, is made up of two parallelepiped bodies (East and West parts) perpendicularly intersected, forming a unique volume of dynamic and restrained lines. The building predominantly presents two finishing materials, the apparent concrete and grey-bluish stapled stone tack.
The general tone of the building is grey, which reminds of the sea. In the same way, the entrance hall has various panels of grey embossed tiles, allusive to the crustaceans and the algae of the Viana do Castelo beaches, executed by the plastic artist Mário Rocha.
