Paulo Vale Afonso

MMFA

Urban Requalification of Fornos de Algodres Municipal Market

Fornos de Algodres, Portugal · 2024
Urban design · renovation

The commission for the requalification of the Fornos de Algodres Market demanded the creation of a sheltered, flexible, multi-purpose space, the reconfiguration of the shops to improve their functionality and modernization, as well as the enhancement of the public space, with the aim of strengthening urban integration and improving the user experience.

The Fornos de Algodres Municipal Market (1902) is a historic building that has played a central role in the community’s life over the decades. It underwent interventions in the 1930s and 1990s. In addition to its primary function as a market, the space evolved into a hub for various events, including fairs, exhibitions, and concerts, capitalizing on its central location and size.

The 1990s intervention aimed to enhance the market’s functionality, notably through the installation of metal lattice roofs to offer more shelter. However, it didn’t address the community’s emerging needs, especially during autumn and winter, when the market's open spaces proved inadequate against the region’s harsh weather.

The new design focuses on reconfiguring the 6,500m² market area, creating a sheltered, flexible, multi-purpose space, and improving the public area.

Given the limited budget for such a large space (~255€/m²), the project focused on the essentials.

Flexibility was a priority, leading to strategic interventions that removed physical and visual barriers. The design approach was based on the removal of unnecessary or restrictive elements as an act of creation. This included reusing the existing structure and introducing new construction elements, ensuring a balance between the old and the new while enhancing functionality and restoring lost historical features.

This rehabilitation preserves the market's historic character while adapting it to current needs, transforming it into a community space available year-round.

"The architect only starts what time and other continue. Entropic time is seen not as an affront, but as a partner in a process of design that continues long after the architecture has left the scene. However, to accept this collaboration demands a change in architectural priorities away from architecture as a frozen moment of "completion", and toward an acceptance of waht Lars Lerup calls "building the unfinished". This does not necessarilly mean literally, physically, unfinished bur ubfinished in teh sense that it allows "for the possibility of appropriation" by its users."

Jerremy Till , "Architecture Depends"

Architecture
Miguel Roque, Paulo Vale Afonso, Rui Santos (RAS·A)

Collaborators
Fernando Miranda · Malvina Gonçalves (landscape architect) · Daniel Brandão (project budget)

Consultants
Edgar Brito (Structural Engineering) · Luís Oliveira (Electrical + Fire safety Design) · Celina Cabete (Water and Sanitation) · Bruno Henriques (HVAC) · Malvina Gonçalves (Landscape Architecture)

Client
Câmara Municipal de Fornos de Algodres

Area
6500 sqm

Budget

1 657 816,26 €

Status
Built

Photography

Domalomenos

Awards

1st Prize Collective Equipment in Prémios Espaço 2024 ∙ Portugal