Hotel Turismo da Guarda. De Hotel - Modelo a Hotel - Escola: Proposta

Abstract

The following dissertation focuses on the case study "Hotel Turismo da Guarda". This was the first Hotel built in the region and has been closed since 2010. Since then the building, that originated from an architecture competition in the 30's from witch only two hotels were built ("Hotel Turismo da Guarda" and the "Hotel Turismo de Castelo Branco"), presents a high state of deterioration. Tourism is an activity that started developing, in Portugal, in the be¬ginning of the twentieth century. In the city of Guarda, one of the main land borders in Portugal, the first ideas of tourist exploitation lead, early on, to the decision of building an hotel in this small city in the province of Beira Alta. In the year of 1933, it's decided in Lisbon, as part of and initiative of the newspaper "Notícias Ilustrado", to throw a publicity campaign with a design of an hotel for each Province of the country. This exhibition would pass through Guarda, giving it the final push, in the decision of building an hotel. The "Hotel Turismo" was then built, according de ideas of the "Hotel-Modelo" and designed by architect Vasco Regaleira. Built during the 30/40's, it took thirteen years to completion. Years later the Hotel went through extension projects, designed by architect Raul Rodrigues Lima and architect Madeira. Nowadays the building is closed and there have been appointed several ideas to solve this problem. One of those ideas consists in transforming the building into a Hotelier School with an Hotel included. This dissertation builds upon this idea, aiming to present a possible design using this building and theme. Reflections concerning the design arise through the exploration of the program and the problems related to it: complexity, hierarchy, and of course the problems that building a new volume that contains this program and "communicates" with the old building. Using a structure that presents historic/theoretical information as well as information concerning the design of a project, this dissertation "builds" a story about the old building and the "voyage" through the working process.