As its name suggests, the scheme for Funchal Centrum, aims to become a new urban centre for the city of Funchal. The project’s main concern is the creation of a diverse, multifunctional urban grid with a balanced mix of activities that generate a vibrant community.
The site borders the Old City of Funchal, a city with a small-scale vernacular character facing the ocean. The plot is bounded by the rua da Ribeira, which marks the division between the traditional urban grid and a less dense layout with green areas and open space that includes villas, hotels and larger- scale buildings.
The major challenge of this project is to design an urban development bringing together a mix of retail and commercial, office and residential, which still remains permeable and open and is animated day and night.
The concept is based on the premise that maximum permeability had to be achieved within a substantial degree of densification. The impermeable superblock needed to incorporate a series of new civic plazas which should allow space to be freed as a continuation of the Old City layout.
The scheme’s main approach involves:
- A street layout extending into the streets which surround the block that traverses the shopping centre.
- Two high-rise volumes with square ground floor: svelte twin “campaniles”, 17,000 sqm each that concentrate 170 residential units and a 200-room hotel;
The apartments’ and the hotel rooms’ terraces around the whole perimeter of the campaniles are designed as generous loggias.
The architectural composition avoids the appearance of superimposed floors.
Glass and steel combine with ochre stucco and local natural stone.
- A 4,000 sqm low-rise glazed office building that replicates the scale of the existing constructions, which provides flexible and functional office space.
- Commercial activities spreading out among the streets, plazas and parks following the traditional grid pattern of the surrounding area.
The masterplan gives maximum priority to public spaces and green areas, encouraging pedestrian circulation.
The shopping centre is transformed into a small district formed by two streets, an entrance plaza and an elevated plaza with hanging gardens.
The twin campaniles with identical design mark the centre of the composition and a gateway to the Old City.
Access to the car park area distributes traffic between the shopping centre and the hotel and the residential towers.
The project perfectly integrates within the urban grid at pedestrian level, drawing local residents and tourists to this new civic space.
The permeable scheme reflects the city’s renewed vitality, regenerating the area in a human-scale, with minimum impact and footprint.
Jean-Pierre Carniaux
07/12/2000
