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Architecture | Concept & Unbuilt

Centro Cultural do Cariri


Carvalho Araújo



Short description

Centro Cultural Cariri is an architectural and urban requalification project, located in the plot where the Sagrada Família Seminar was built in 1945 - a religious training center that served the city of Crato, in Brazil. At the beginning of the 70s, the religious teaching unit started to function as Hospital Manoel de Abreu, that served both the seminary neighborhood, nearby municipalities and cities of other states. The hospital is partially closed in 2014, with the building already in a high state of disrepair.
The proposal focused on converting the 58,000m2 of land into a large cultural space, integrating the existing building as the main volume - where are located the exhibition rooms and the complementary program - and proposing two new buildings - the Theater and the Planetarium - as well as some recreational and sports equipment incorporated in the design of the park.
The exterior arrangements function as an organizing element for the project. The two large axes proposed form a cross between themselves and the pavement takes on the tone of the local stone. This gesture, in addition to disciplining the ensemble, makes it possible to relate the new constructions to the central building of the old Hospital.
The Theater is located at one end of the transversal axis and consists of six floors. It occupies the place of a precarious construction, adjacent to the main construction, and is connected to it through a pedestrian bridge, highlighting the new construction in relation to the existing one.
The Planetarium is located at the end of the longitudinal axis, next to a second entrance to the park, close to the Grangeiro river. Its location allows to approach some of the program from the center of the park, while valuing the relationship between the urban center and the river bank.

Entry details
LocationCariri, Brazil
Lead designerJosé Manuel Carvalho Araújo
Design teamJosé Manuel Carvalho Araújo, Adriano Peixoto, Alexandre Branco, Ana Carolina Moura, Andria Charilaou, António Vale, Gonçalo Fernandes, Hélder Ferreira, Ioanna Spanou, João Lago, Joel Moniz, José João Santos, Margarida Araújo, Maria Fernanda Farias, Rodrigo Melo, Tiago Almeida
Photography creditsAtelier Carvalho Araújo
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