Registry Office of St Vicente by Duarte Caldeira

11 August 2011

Five existing concrete kiosks in Madeira have been wrapped in volcanic basalt and overlapped by the walls of a new registry office.

The kiosk blocks have been refurbished to provide enclosed meeting rooms and bathroom facilities for the open-plan office designed by Portuguese architects Duarte Caldeira.

One block contains a staircase and lift that descend into an underground car park below.

Timber columns surround the entirely glazed building facade, landing on the roofs of kiosks that interrupt the walls.

Floors and surfaces inside the office and archive are finished in black granite, while timber panels cover the ceiling.

Other recently featured offices blocks include a translucent training centre in Italy and an office building for Singapore that resembles a giant periscope - see all out stories about office buildings here.

Photography is by Joao Morgado.

Here are some details from Duarte Caldeira:

Registrar Office of St Vicente, Madeira, Portugal - Duarte Caldeira

Situated on the northwest coast of the island of Madeira, Portugal, in an extensive river valley, it is near the centre of a small coastal rural village, nestled between the region’s natural landscape, which extends towards the area where the building is located.

Standing on top of an underground car park, the new translucent building allows an influx of natural light and the view of the impressive surrounding high and rugged green mountains.

It is a wooden and glass structure arranged on top of various rectangular shaped concrete boxes, previously used as kiosks in the urban park.

Instead of demolishing the existing small buildings to make room for the new one, it was decided to use some of them as part of the new building, and also keep the original staircase and lift which gives access to the car park located below.

The design program of this public services’ building is a simple one. It houses an open space office and workspace for the registrar office personnel, an archive area and a main private office, a meetings room and a reception counter for the general public.

The volume of the new construction is larger and taller than the others and is intersected by some of the existing volumes which are now covered in grey volcanic basalt stone, the local most common stone.

It was built as a structure of metal beams with flat cover, clad with natural heat treated wood. In the interior, the black granite flooring, window frames and counter, make a contrast with the wooden ceiling and the outdoor metal pillars which sustain the construction.