Environmental Interpretation Center of Boqueirão

Flores Island, 2006 - 2009

Located in a historical and industrial area of the island of Flores, the Interpretation Centre aims to be more than a building, integrating a new set of buildings which is born from the area's redevelopment: including the recovery of the historical heritage of the whale factory building, the interpretive centre of the old whale oil tank covers, the redevelopment of the former boathouse, as well as the adjacent outer space.

The idea of the project involves the recovery of old whale oil storage tank covers in an attempt to (re)use the lost space and strengthen the connection between the two programs and spaces in question: The Centre and the factory.

Concentrated in an underground area, surrounded by a natural stone wall, it "takes advantage" of the spaces situated between the existing tanks, working on a play of light and textures and giving it a structural unity. It is an area of contrasts between light and dark as it encompasses the access to the tanks which are used as skylights that favor, albeit differently, the entry of light into all the interior spaces.