![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/04/dzn_Castelo-Novo-by-Comoco-Architects-1.jpg)
Castelo Novo by Comoco Architects
Here are some images of a visitors centre with walkways built through and around a castle in Fundão, Portugal, by Portuguese studio Comoco Architects.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/04/dzn_Castelo-Novo-by-Comoco-Architects-12.jpg)
The new addition to the Castelo Novo comprises a pedestrian walkway, ramps and stairs, which guide visitors from a church square through the castle to a multimedia display inside a steel box in the main tower.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/04/dzn_Castelo-Novo-by-Comoco-Architects-5.jpg)
A rectangular structure with a folding facade sits further down the hill from the castle and is where the walkway begins.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/04/dzn_Castelo-Novo-by-Comoco-Architects-11.jpg)
Photographs are by Fernando and Sergio Guerra.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/04/dzn_Castelo-Novo-by-Comoco-Architects-8.jpg)
The following information is from the architects:
The project’s brief requested the conservation and valorization of Castelo Novo’s Castle and surroundings. Moreover, it suggested also the creation of a space where people and visitors could enjoy it as a place of permanence.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/04/dzn_Castelo-Novo-by-Comoco-Architects-2.jpg)
To answer these demands, the design solution created a “body” without a rigid boundary, organic, working independently of the existing structures but using them as a support. The construction was designed as a continuous abstract object, non-identifiable with a unique and specific purpose.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/04/dzn_Castelo-Novo-by-Comoco-Architects-3.jpg)
The object changes with the characteristics of the site. While in the church’s square it acts as a volume defining the limits, in the interior of the Castle’s walls, its shape is transformed into a pavement layer with ramps and stairs creating a pedestrian pathway which is suspended from the ground by metallic structure.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/04/dzn_Castelo-Novo-by-Comoco-Architects-4.jpg)
This solution allows the visitors to admire the archeological findings without damaging them. The pathway finishes in the castle’s Main Tower where a “steel box” was inserted in its interior containing a multimedia room.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/04/dzn_Castelo-Novo-by-Comoco-Architects-7.jpg)
This box allows also the creation of a platform where visitors can enjoy a panoramic view of the landscape. A
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/04/dzn_Castelo-Novo-by-Comoco-Architects-9.jpg)
ll the construction was made using lightweight metal structures which can allow a clear distinction of the new object from the existing structures and, at the same time, the reversibility of the operation.
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/04/dzn_Castelo-Novo-by-Comoco-Architects-10.jpg)
Project Credits
Location: Castelo Novo, Fundão
Client: Fundão Municipality
Architecture: Luís Miguel Correia, Nelson Mota, Susana Constantino with Vanda Maldonado
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/04/dzn_Castelo-Novo-by-Comoco-Architects-13.jpg)
Date: 2003-2008
Area: 3650m2
Engineering: Direcção-Geral dos Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais (DGEMN)
![](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2010/04/dzn_Castelo-Novo-by-Comoco-Architects-6.jpg)
Building Contractor: General Contractor: STAP – Reparação, Consolidação e Modificação de Estruturas, S.A.
Landscape: Serrasqueiro e Filhos, lda
Photography: FG+SG – Fotografia de Arquitectura
See also:
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