Two wings. A new skin. A landmark by the seaside.
A bold retro-fit project to transform an iconic summer camp facility into a new landmark hotel and co-working space for the region of Areia Branca.
The existing building is stripped back to its structural frame and a new facade is defined according to the various layers of a new “skin”, topped by the adaptable awnings and outdoor planters in each of the 50 rooms, which fosters an ever-evolving appearance of the building.
2850 m2
Praia da Areia Branca, Lourinhã, Portugal | 2024
Client: CIMBB
Public Competition | 1st Prize
The architectural experience of a porch for each room is recreated through a panoramic glazed elevation, completed with its own greenery and awning, referencing the beach huts of the 70s, popular in this area when the original building was in-use.
The new intervention aims to transform the landmark into a Net Zero building, in order to minimise embodied carbon emissions throughout the construction and consequent use of the building, which also aims to act as a new community hub for the region, with various public amenities like a co-working space, restaurant or a nature interpretation centre located at ground floor level.
A carefully orchestrated landscape design aims to blur the existing threshold between the plot and the dunes, extending the natural landscape into the site, while an extension of the existing boardwalks creates a new public path to the beach.
