The tour to the ‘Gruta do Escoural’ it’s an experience which starts with the road trip through the beautiful landscape of Alentejo and get on crossing the gate of the cave. The project aims to emphasize the transition’s moment that leads the visitor to overcome the line between the outer and the inner space of the cave.
The project was based upon the strong impression provided by the site itself. The cave is situated inside a hill that lies within a quarry and that is why a strong contrast exists between the rock formations and the smooth natural topography. The values of this site is in all those configurations and forms that lead to an experience of involvement between history and nature and our proposals are based on the strong feeling provoked by the place in which the “Gruta do Escoural” is.
The project is made up of a sort of stone wall, low, extensive and horizontal that runs parallel to a highway and perpendicular to the mouth of the cave; on the south side of this wall, are located the reception spaces. The multifunctional space is covered by a concrete slab standing on a metal structure and with stained glass window towards the south side.
The other assignment was to build a new structure to replace the former temporary structure wich was in very poor condition.The main concerns of the structure to allow visitors inside the cave, was to be able to run a clean and dry construction, considering the impossibility of using construction techniques that would require welding and / or in situ concrete, and the use of enduring materials capable of withstanding the passage of time in a particularly hostile environment.
The cave’s geometry made impossible a modular approach and required constant measurements. For that reason we chose types of wood easier to cut and handle: for the external side of the rail we chose an HPL, an high-pressure laminate composed of wood based fibres with phenolic resin, called TRESPA; for the floor and other parts of the rail we chose a brasilian wood called Ipê, very strong and with high-strength and humidity resistance. We decided that this structure should be opaque and black in sharp contrast with the light color of the limestone cave.
