galeria gabinete wraps Ponto C, a cultural hub in green cork
In Penafiel, Portugal, Galeria Gabinete completes Ponto C – Cultura e Criatividade, a cultural building that reorganizes the city around it. Led by architect Helder de Carvalho, the project establishes a new southern entrance and redefines the relationship with the historic center. What had long been dismissed as ‘the back’ of the city now faces the Praça de S. Martinho square as a civic foreground, undoing the idea of Penafiel as ‘a city split down the middle’ and opening possibilities for more structured expansion.
The building settles into the sloping topography, partly veiled by magnolias and planted embankments. Traces of the former structure remain, but its new identity emerges through material and color. The exterior is wrapped in sprayed green cork, a textured surface that shifts with light and perspective, sometimes reading as solid architecture, sometimes as an extension of the surrounding vegetation. Over the years, the green is expected to blend further into the landscape, softening the distinction between built and natural.
all images by Ivo Tavares Studio
Recalibrating public space through fluid movement
As circulation unfolds, it mirrors the terrain. Visitors arrive at a ground-level plaza that acts like a long welcome mat leading into the foyer. From here, movement branches toward the ticket counter and two main cultural spaces, the Auditorium and Casa da Caturra, while backstage areas, including dressing rooms and security, remain discreetly out of view. One level below, an exhibition hall and café open directly onto a garden, an outdoor auditorium, and a pedestrian route descending toward the Cavalum. This outward pull makes the building feel porous, encouraging cultural life to spill into public space. Beneath all of this, logistical operations, loading, unloading, and distribution to the interior of the building happen independently, keeping the public realm uninterrupted.
The auditorium steps away from the green exterior and adopts deep red tones, creating a warm interior suited to performance. Technical spaces supporting the stage are tucked overhead, maintaining clarity between audience, production, and movement. Through Ponto C, the Penafiel-based team at Galeria Gabinete redirects flows, stitches disconnected edges together, and gives Penafiel a civic threshold.
Galeria Gabinete completes Ponto C – Cultura e Criatividade in Penafiel, Portugal
a cultural building that reorganizes the city around it
the project establishes a new southern entrance and redefines the relationship with the historic center
the building faces the Praça de S. Martinho square
undoing the idea of Penafiel as ‘a city split down the middle’
visitors arrive at a ground-level plaza that acts like a long welcome mat leading into the foyer
an exhibition hall and café open directly onto a garden
movement branches toward the ticket counter and two main cultural spaces
the building feels porous, encouraging cultural life to spill into public space
the auditorium steps away from the green exterior and adopts deep red tones
a warm, focused interior suited to performance
the building settles into the sloping topography
the new identity emerges through material and color
wrapped in sprayed green cork
project info:
name: Ponto C – Cultura e Criatividade
architect: Galeria Gabinete | @galeriagabinete
location: Penafiel, Portugal
main architect: Helder de Carvalho
collaborators: Luís Moura (architecture); Elsa Pinto (architecture); Vasco Melo (architecture); Adriana Mendes (VR); OkDraw (3D); Rui Santos (construction consultancy)
engineering: João Marques, Jorge Neves, Adelino Correia, Esperança Azevedo, Hélder Gomes, RdA Climate Solutions
landscape design: Aproplan
light design: Manuel Fernandes
acoustic design: InAcoustics
fluids engineering: Hélder Gomes
thermal engineering: Jorge Neves
photographer: Ivo Tavares Studio | @ivotavaresstudio
The post green cork skin camouflages galeria gabinete’s portuguese cultural center into its lush setting appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.