The Modernist
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
Category
Project Description
From 1950s to70s, Faro became the hotbed of Portuguese Modern Architecture movement led by Manuel Gomes da Costa following Oscar Niemeyer or Le Corbusier. The city counts 500 buildings of that time, including The Modernist Hotel. But this cultural collection is still unrevealed to Faro inhabitants. So many buildings are just abandoned. After 4 years of renovation in pure respect of its DNA, our aim is to create a new love story between Faro and its architecture with social and cultural actions !
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
We are Angie & Chris, professionals in Hospitality. Angie is French and a true lover of Portugal and Chris is Portuguese. We are originally Parisians, creators of ARTISAN LOFTS PARIS, passionate about architecture and design. In 2016 we fell in love with Faro Modern Architecture heritage and felt so bad about its bad condition of conservation. Too many buildings were abandoned and neglected by Faro population. So we had a dream : to convert Faro in the new Palm Springs of South Europe !
Our plan included 3 phases
PHASE 1 is to create an example of Architecture conservation and valuation. We bought that abandoned building located in the heart of the City, called now The Modernist. Renovated it with award wining Portuguese architecture studio "Par" in full respect of its modernist DNA. And converted into an apart-hotel of 6 flats only. That took 4 years of very hard work. But we are bringing to Faro people from all accross europe (architects, designers or passionate) to this amazing singular spot. Which is quite new since travelers use to pass by Faro and rarely visiting.
PHASE 2 is showing and educating Faro population (but not only) about Modern Architecture. We are working in several projects with Faro municipality: Events that will bring people to our place such as The Architecture day, The Rooftop festival, The Modernist week end. But also working with Faro school kids to open their eyes to architecture. (Minecraft MIMMO project) We crafted an architecture game for them. Finally we created a book about Architecture in Faro.
PHASE 3 is to make Faro Modern Architecture trendy again ! We work with the municipality in Faro European Capital of culture 2027 project. In order to integrate architecture as a main cultural asset of the city. And the funniest part is this one : we have designed a walking tour in the city so that people can (re)discover the hidden gems and posting Instagram modernist selfies in social networks.
Key objectives for sustainability
It is always challenging to work in Hospitality and be sustainable. Our belief was that the world after COVID would change the way we travel. We will still travel, but differently. This would be made of less quantity travel, but more quality travel. Conscious travel, with a particular objective that will make the traveler grow along with the local community. The Modernist has been designed in that context, with 3 main sustainable objectives :
1/ REGIONAL OR NATIONAL SOURCING ONLY : Every single part of this project has been imagined, designed & manufactured in PORTUGAL, and mostly from the Algarve less than 100km from site. (from building material, furniture, equipment, lighting, to the smallest detail...) For us, from day 1 it was a total non sense bringing material away from Portugal. Not only to limit CO2 footprint but also to respect Modern Architects who built Faro. They sourced exclusively from the region in the 50s. If they had made it, why should we not be able to do it ?
2/ LOCAL SCALE ONLY : The Modernist has been created in an artisan local mode instead of global large scale mode. The construction, furniture, accessories have been made by local artisans only. Our architects, designers and ourselves have taken a lot of time designing those items together with the artisans, manufacturing and adjusting when necessary. Obviously it took months to do it but the output is that everything is unique.
3/ NATURAL MATERIAL ONLY: The Modernist is essentially made of natural material : Wood, stone and recycling. Wood for windows and furniture, stone for kitchen, bathroom and outdoor flooring. Recycled material for inside flooring.
Our objective is to make The Modernist an example of sustainable renovation. And convert Faro population to follow the path. Working with our local sustainable material, our local artisans and reducing CO2 footprint.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The Modernist objective is to (re) educate people about the incredible aesthetics of Portuguese Modern architecture. Visible inside our building but also in most of the 500 existing modernist constructions of Faro. Manuel Gomes da Costa architect, who build a majority of them, designed himself most of his furnitures, interiors and was obsessed by aesthetic and functionality. He had been a genius, and can be a new aesthetic model for us all !
We selected 7 of his main aesthetic principles that we integrated in our project
1.SIMPLICITY : Simple and unadorned shapes, Influenced by German and Scandinavian architecture and design The most important quality of this style is to be functional. Form always follows function.
2.NATURAL MATERIAL : We used mostly natural and local materials: stone, wood, leather and wool, metals, .... Neutral or earthy colors.
3.ORGANIZED SPACES : Modern interior design is minimalist and functional. All objects or furniture are functional. With a clear and logical separation between the private area (bedrooms and the bathroom) from the public area (kitchen, living room and dining room).
4.CLEAN LINES Few curves. Clear horizontal and vertical lines. Structural elements such as columns or beams are often visible.
5.LIGHT AND ENVIRONMENT Natural light is paramount, the buildings include a maximum of voids. Unadorned windows. Integration of the building in nature. Strong adaptation of the building to the environment (protection from sun and light in hot areas for example)
6. SIMPLE AND FUNCTIONAL FURNITURE : Simple and functional furniture. Low and horizontal furniture with simple lines. Integrated into the walls. Furniture usually made of natural materials such as unpainted wood, leather, steel, tin or glass. Made of smooth surfaces and very little ornamentation.
7. MONOCHROME COLORS; Monochrome color schemes are derived from a single base hue and are extended using their shadows, tones and hues.
Key objectives for inclusion
The key objectives in terms of inclusion are :
1/ Local Partners: The Modernist as been 100% made in Portugal and mostly from the Algarve. From the design, manufacture, furniture & accessories or construction services. We invested nearly 1M€, and most of that capital has been invested within the local ecosystem. Local creators, craftsmen, artisans have been the enablers of this project. That value will stay in the region and in their hands. Some other projects are rising and will work with this community as we started. In daily operations the Hotel also exclusively works with national / regional suppliers for all amenities and consumable goods. Finally the jobs we created are among local families.
2/ Educational inclusion : The Modernist is working with Faro Municipality in order to educate the population and the child about Modern Architecture. We have been associated to the MI MOMO project. A project involving around 10 schools of Faro and hundreds of students. Using Microsoft MINECRAFT game and the modernist heritage of the city, we challenge the kids creating their own constructions. We have taught the basics of Modern architecture to them via a conference and we hope some kids will become architects later on !
3/ Cultural Inclusion : In association with Faro Municipality we will promote Modern Architecture in several projects. This will be an opportunity for Faro population and visitors to visit for free our Hotel and to discover Faro Modern heritage. To mention a few projects :
Faro Rooftop Festival that we will join in 2021
Faro Architecture Day that will happen in october 2021. We convinced the Municipality to do it around Modern Architecture. We will be open door and should host an exhibition of Manuel Gomes da Costa in our Rooftop and garden.
The Modernist Week end: Initiative we are designing with Municipality and other Modernist Hotels, private houses and beach houses that could be visited for free 1 week end / ye
Results in relation to category
Before we started The Modernist, there was little or no interest, neither from the town hall nor from private about this topic. Faro population was indifferent to it and too often those buildings were just destroyed, abandoned / neglected.
Thanks to The Modernist Project and the fact we are bringing to Faro Europeans passionate and experts about Architecture, things are changing very fast. Faro Municipality and population realizes now that we have an incredible asset and cultural heritage : 500 modernist constructions that make Faro a singular city of South Europe. A sort of Palm Springs. Obviously there are still plenty of things to do but the new trend is here now.
The Modernist is a 3 phases project :
PHASE 1 is to create an example of Architecture conservation and valuation with our hotel. People can now see an example of good conservation and transformation. (it was an abandoned office in the heart of the city, it is now a trendy place) The book we designed about Faro Architecture or the Self Guided tour are tools to figure this out.
PHASE 2 is showing and educating Faro population (but not only) about Modern Architecture : children with MI MOMO project. Population and visitors with events organized with Faro Municipality (Faro Rooftop Festival, Architecture Day, Modernist week end) Faro population starting with kids to visitors are now aware of that heritage. And will start initiatives to conserve it.
PHASE 3 is to make Faro Modern Architecture trendy again ! Integrating Modern Architecture in Faro European Capital of culture 2027 project. And to make Faro viral, sexy and visible in social medias, using the selfie mode as a way to show it to the world. We ask our visitors to do selfies in the most amazing places and post them in social medias to create that virality. https://www.instagram.com/faro_modernist/
How Citizens benefit
3 categories of people are affected by the project :
* Faro citizens
* Faro visitors
* Faro Modern Architecture home owners
Faro citizens are now more aware of their heritage, that makes the city unique from the Algarve but also from the rest of Europe. A cultural asset is something you can not relocate. It is here for ever if we are able to preserve and transform positively. Faro citizens are developing this self awareness and progressive love / attachment to their architecture that they are rediscovering.
Faro visitors are quite new in the city. Faro uses to be the transportation hub where travelers land or take off. But rarely stayed, or maybe by accident 😊 But this was before. Now we can see in our reservations that travelers come to Faro as a destination. They land, stay and take off from here. And in their to do list, Architecture visiting is often ticked. That brings international prestige to our city and cultural heritage.
Faro Modern Architecture home owners are now aware. Aware of the architecture quality, unique design, attractiveness. Aware that their home is part of the city history. They are paying more attention to the way of renovating and conserving. In the choice of material, colors, and trying to respect the original DNA of it. Faro Municipality is also aware of that heritage and is working in a conservation program in order to protect those buildings.
Innovative character
It is a challenge to convert a historic heritage into an innovative project. Because on the one hand we must keep the heritage as it is, on the other we must transform it. So our idea was to keep the substance but change the form. Keeping the substance means protecting the 500 modernist buildings of the city, sparking recognition among Faro citizens and Faro Municipality, sparking interest among Faro kids and students. Changing the form means changing the way we see them, using technology !
Today, the most precious visible thing you bring from your holidays are your photos. That you proudly post in Social medias. That creates reactions, comments and spreads a beauty among communities. And generate peoples interest. In Faro, with 300 days of sun per year, incredible light / colors ad the amazing modernist tiles we have are just the perfect combination of a good photo or selfie. So we promote Faro heritage with our travelers photos. And now the travelers promote Faro via their own social media. This creates a virtuous creative.
In addition, the creation of a self walking tour across the city combining 50 key modernist buildings with a selection of great food breaks (ice cream, pastry, tapas or drinks) is another creative, neutral CO2 and simple way to enjoy it.
