SHORT DESCRIPTION

The project for the rehabilitation and extension of the grandstand and headquarters of CDUP was promoted by the University of Porto and developed by Crea, within the University Stadium context, located in the Quinta do Campo Alegre and inaugurated in 1953. We were challenged to renovate the existing grandstand building, as well as to integrate the new buildings for the CDUP, and it was this spirit of designing a cohesive whole that inspired the project. Architecture should not break with the context, but rather be relational in time. The existing grandstand, of rationalist inspiration, reflected in the composition and sobriety of the elevation to the access road, is strictly symmetrical, with a porticoed entrance marking the passage to the interior of the stadium. Granite bas-reliefs stand out, referencing classical mythology and the original games. Alongside structural refurbishment, the interior space was redesigned to include support areas for the playing fields, with access made through the central portico. Spectators enter through staircases at the top of the grandstand, while a new roof significantly increases the covered area. On the longitudinal alignment of the grandstand, two new buildings were designed to absorb the CDUP program, including headquarters, offices, meeting and social rooms, and multipurpose facilities. In attentive relation with the pre-existing volume and composition, their design resonates with the grandstand metric but reinterprets it with more fluid, dynamic movement. To the east, the buildings open generously onto the playing fields, with concrete pillars forming balconies or large planes framing the lawn. The grandstand’s austerity is echoed in the new volumes: pigmented terracotta concrete extends across façades and interiors, contrasting with the sobriety of the original structure and the surrounding treetops.