A World Heritage Site

With a 3,100m² of covered area, the Gymnastic Trai­ning Center of Guimarães is located at the East limit of the city park and was conceived for prac­tice and trai­ning of high perfor­mance gymnastics. Guimarães is a city and muni­ci­pa­lity located in nort­hern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre is listed as UNESCO World Heri­tage Site since 2001, in reco­gni­tion for being an “excep­tio­nally well-preserved and authentic example of the evolu­tion of a medieval sett­le­ment into a modern town” in Europe. Guimarães is also a part of the Ave Subre­gion (one of the most indus­tria­lised subre­gions in the country), as well as the histo­rical Minho Province. The city has a popu­la­tion of 52,181 inha­bi­tants.

 The intent of applying the tech­no­lo­gies that trans­form this kind of buil­ding into an energy-inde­pen­dent struc­ture with low CO₂ emis­sion was the big chall­enge, but the objec­tive was surpassed and the buil­ding is already a land­mark in sustaina­bi­lity, ener­getic effi­ci­ency and inno­va­tion. The Trai­ning Center achieved high perfor­mance ratings by the LiderA system, with an A++ certi­fi­ca­tion, a reco­gni­tion which is rare in sustaina­bi­lity, not only in Portugal.

An exclusive building

The buil­ding sits between two pre-exis­ting streets, both permit access to the buil­ding, the one at a higher level is the main street, and the other, on a lower level, limits the city park and is used for exclu­sive access to the Trai­ning Center.

The Trai­ning Center is exclu­sive for the prac­tice of high perfor­mance gymnastics and consists of a pavi­lion, a gym, locker rooms, admi­nis­tra­tive offices and public spaces that grant access to the stands.

The choice of mate­rials for the buil­ding reveals a pedagogic intent and shows envi­ron­mental concern in the buil­ding design, serving the ener­getic effi­ci­ency and sear­ching for a clear balance between tech­no­logy and archi­tec­ture. The facade, built from dark agglo­me­rate cork, is a perfect example of that versa­ti­lity, inten­ding to repre­sent a strong design trait for the project while keeping the asso­cia­tion with the envi­ron­mental sustaina­bi­lity.

The volu­metric compo­si­tion of the buil­ding was defined by its core program­matic needs and the wish to create a buil­ding that is inte­grated in the local land­scape. Ther­e­fore, the buil­ding sear­ches for scale and refe­rences on the surroun­dings, using its volu­metric presence to create another element for the park walking paths, like the entrance plaza, that not only connects the two levels of the buil­ding, but also allows the contem­pla­tion of the park and the eastern hillside of the city.