Tea House Paço das Infantas

The building concept explored in the tea house reveals a deliberate assertion to clarify repeated interpretations of the built surroundings, allowing, at the same time, the ruin to remain as it is. The main purpose was to occupy the central part of the ruin of the Paço das Infantas with a light object, perfectly innocuous due to its geometric birth in the walls of the ruins.

The construction is characterised by two solid planes - the roof-covering and the pavement - sustained by a chromatically distinct parallelepiped which defines the service areas of the tea house.

The façade is made of simple glass, modulated and free from framework, except the doors, which are marked by an iron frame and hoop. The pillars of the supporting structure of the floor and roof flags are outlined by iron and work from within.

The intention is, on the one hand, to keep them away from the walls and on the other, to allow the dematerialised and abstract glass box to occupy the outstanding position.

The aim was therefore to create a structure whose geometric and material autonomy underlines the presence of the ruin, interposing the structure of the tea house in order to achieve a more understandable context.

The pavement floor and the platform of the esplanade are slightly raised, thus enhancing the image of a structure, which is not attached to anything, not even to the ground.

On the inside, the minimised areas of the programme simplify the organisation of the space. The service areas are concentrated in a single block, clearly separated from the surrounding walls, which allows for the desirable transparency of the tea house and also to read it within a more abstract context.

Source: Mies Arch Prize: http://www.miesarch.com/