by Ramos Castellano Arquitectos in Mindelo
Eloisa Ramos and Moreno Castellano Ramos Castellano Architecture Chatted with the director of Centro Nacional de Artesanato e Design (National Arts, Crafts and Design) Centre) in Mindelo. He asked the two what came to mind when they thought about it. renovation historic colonial house where the center was erected.
The main building ends in a patio, followed by an adjoining old building at the back. Ramos and Castellano saw the property and almost instantly went back to the style they knew best: illuminating the exterior to counter and complement the white interior. The architects’ response was to hang colored barrel caps on the building’s façade, making them reversible to let sunlight and air in and out with ease.
images courtesy of Ramos Castellano Arquitectos | Photos of Sergio Pirrone
A center of attention stealer, the restored and refurbished National Center for Arts, Crafts and Design paints the landscape of traditional buildings and homes in vibrant colors. The architects took care of and renovated the historic old house adjacent to the main building.
Along with the outdoor patio and the new building in the back, the restoration team beautified the rooms and spaces as best they could. For the colored barrel covers, the architects drew on the archipelago’s trade history, noting that imports come in containers and barrels, from clothing to food.
‘So it’s used for everything as barrels, containers and materials with many uses. Our approach was to tear down the walls and open the patio to the city and use these barrel covers and create a self-contained volume that covers the entire museum, paying homage to this simple object so ingrained in the lives of the Mindelo people. ,’ Architects write.
Double ventilation with barrel cover
Thanks to the reversible barrel covers, Ramos Castellano Architecture It installs a double-ventilated façade that guarantees a passive control over the interior temperature without air conditioning. The covers rotate like window blinds, allowing modulation of interior light and airflow. Photovoltaic panels take care of energy production around the building
‘As with other projects, the aim was to work with the least possible resources and the artisans of the centre, in a self-built project using recycled materials from the workshops. The idea is to expose the heart of the city and pay homage to a material used in the environment’ Architects write.
