Tipografia do Conto

Typographic Memory

The Hotel Tipografia do Conto project rehabilitates an architectural complex comprising two Deco-style buildings constructed in 1916. Originally an industrial typology—the "Gráficos Reunidos" printing house operated here—these buildings are located on Rua Álvares Cabral, a street opened at the turn of the 20th century.

A century later, rehabilitation of the complex began to include a hotel unit with ten rooms. The new project embraces its time, opting for new materials and textures such as exposed concrete in slabs, staircase boxes, rear facade, and set-back floors. From the pre-existing complex, the use of a central courtyard for lighting/ventilation in the Hotel building and the spacious ground floor in the neighbouring Café Cultural space are retained. In the rooms, this industrial memory is evoked in the small “offices” in wood and mirrored glass containing the bathrooms.

The facades facing the central courtyard in Riga wood reuse the beams of the old printing house, complemented by side panels in handmade tiles. The ornamental coverings of the exposed concrete ceilings, formed by various texts in low relief, allude to the idea of printing and publishing. The rear facade connects with a wooded courtyard and a walled garden containing a long water tank.

Hotel Tipografia do Conto invites the discovery of the city's industrial memory in a unique block of its urban fabric.