ACA. Paço de Vitorino
Hotel - 2016
Location
Vitorino das Donas, Ponte de Lima
Collaboration
Fernando U. Ferrão,principal architect; Jrtorres - Consultores de Engenharia, Lda (Especialidades); Prof. Dr. Carlos A. Brochado de Almeida (Arqueologia); Raúl Teixeira - Piscinas
Type
Private Commission
Status
Built
Size
615,00 M2
Vitorino das Donas, Ponte de Lima
Collaboration
Fernando U. Ferrão,principal architect; Jrtorres - Consultores de Engenharia, Lda (Especialidades); Prof. Dr. Carlos A. Brochado de Almeida (Arqueologia); Raúl Teixeira - Piscinas
Type
Private Commission
Status
Built
Size
615,00 M2
“Landscape Chambers: Reinventing the North Gardens of Vitorino”
The intervention on the north wing of the Quinta do Paço de Vitorino, located in Vitorino das Donas, Ponte de Lima, arose from the need to readapt the former barn, which stood in a state of total ruin — roofless, exposed to the elements, with only the outer stone walls and their original openings still standing. The estate is exceedingly ancient, occupying a high position over the Lima River valley and showing traces of earlier Roman presence, suggesting that a settlement may have existed on this site in remote times. Centuries later, the Paço consolidated as a noble manor house, with formal origins in the sixteenth century, expanded in the eighteenth century and rebuilt after the fire of 1836, remaining linked to the same family for generations.
In recent years, the main house was fully restored and adapted to function as a boutique rural hotel, marking the first major phase of requalification. The project developed for the north wing — centred on the old barn and its exterior spaces — constitutes the second phase of this broader strategy: the hotel’s consolidation and expansion, endowing it with new amenities, leisure areas and accommodation units that enrich the overall guest experience.
The walled gardens on the south side — such as the Jardim das Meninas, the baroque garden and other intimate green enclosures — played a decisive role in shaping the design. Each of these historic spaces possesses its own distinct atmosphere, reflecting a longstanding tradition of carefully structured outdoor “rooms.” They served as conceptual references for the creation of new exterior chambers on the north side — not to be imitated, but reinterpreted, through a contemporary lens, in scale, spatial logic and relationship to the surrounding landscape.
The project strategy unfolds in three fundamental moments. The first was to resolve access to the barn from the main forecourt, requalifying the space in front of the north wing and articulating the house of the caretakers with the broader circulation system. This generated a near-circular path that established a secondary forecourt — discreet, lawned and landscaped — helping to balance the relation between the buildings and structure the ensemble as a whole.
In the second moment, the barn becomes a hinge between two distinct exterior worlds: to the west, a walled court, intimate and protected; to the east, the pool platform, open to the agricultural landscape, the Lima riverbanks and the distant Serra d’Arga. The pool was set at a slightly lower level, allowing its full surface and deck to be perceived from above, while avoiding excessively high retaining walls in response to the natural slope. This decision also preserved the volumetric presence of the existing dovecote, located just seven metres away. The change in level further enabled the creation of a lower floor housing the gym, changing rooms, a hall, storage areas and the pool’s technical facilities.
The pool area, open and luminous, projects northwards but remains naturally sheltered from prevailing winds by the mountains behind. Its placement allows sunlight from all quadrants throughout the day, reinforcing its strong morning vocation — ideal for breakfast, leisurely lunches and long hours spent by the water.
In the third moment, to the west of the barn, a more secluded exterior space was created — defined by existing and newly built walls — intended for late-afternoon and evening use. Its introverted nature makes it suitable for gatherings, celebrations or even small festivities, extending the hotel’s social and outdoor life.
Regarding the barn itself, the intervention adopts the idea of a “hull” — a new volume constructed within the surviving stone shell. The original walls were consolidated, and upon them rests a continuous, heavy and robust slab of brownish, almost cyclopean concrete, incorporating river sands and small stones. This materiality anchors the building to the landscape and reinforces its tectonic presence.
The openings were conceived as continuous apertures separated by narrow, deep piers that create shadow, density and depth — functioning as a structural brise-soleil. The interplay of light, matter and thickness defines the architectural expression, binding the slab, the interior partitions and all new components into a single coherent structure. The new volume inhabits the ruin with precision and respect, renewing it.
The typological exception is the restaurant/bar, conceived as a polyvalent space and as a stitching element between the two exterior realms. Its configuration — almost like a short, luminous tunnel — creates a constant physical and atmospheric connection between west and east, allowing both sides of the intervention to communicate throughout the day and night.
Taken as a whole, the project restores the barn to an active role within the estate: a point of connection, balance and extension of both the main Paço and the boutique rural hotel it now supports. It is an intervention born from respect for the ruin and the landscape — reinterpreting them, reintegrating them and bringing them back to life in the present.
The intervention on the north wing of the Quinta do Paço de Vitorino, located in Vitorino das Donas, Ponte de Lima, arose from the need to readapt the former barn, which stood in a state of total ruin — roofless, exposed to the elements, with only the outer stone walls and their original openings still standing. The estate is exceedingly ancient, occupying a high position over the Lima River valley and showing traces of earlier Roman presence, suggesting that a settlement may have existed on this site in remote times. Centuries later, the Paço consolidated as a noble manor house, with formal origins in the sixteenth century, expanded in the eighteenth century and rebuilt after the fire of 1836, remaining linked to the same family for generations.
In recent years, the main house was fully restored and adapted to function as a boutique rural hotel, marking the first major phase of requalification. The project developed for the north wing — centred on the old barn and its exterior spaces — constitutes the second phase of this broader strategy: the hotel’s consolidation and expansion, endowing it with new amenities, leisure areas and accommodation units that enrich the overall guest experience.
The walled gardens on the south side — such as the Jardim das Meninas, the baroque garden and other intimate green enclosures — played a decisive role in shaping the design. Each of these historic spaces possesses its own distinct atmosphere, reflecting a longstanding tradition of carefully structured outdoor “rooms.” They served as conceptual references for the creation of new exterior chambers on the north side — not to be imitated, but reinterpreted, through a contemporary lens, in scale, spatial logic and relationship to the surrounding landscape.
The project strategy unfolds in three fundamental moments. The first was to resolve access to the barn from the main forecourt, requalifying the space in front of the north wing and articulating the house of the caretakers with the broader circulation system. This generated a near-circular path that established a secondary forecourt — discreet, lawned and landscaped — helping to balance the relation between the buildings and structure the ensemble as a whole.
In the second moment, the barn becomes a hinge between two distinct exterior worlds: to the west, a walled court, intimate and protected; to the east, the pool platform, open to the agricultural landscape, the Lima riverbanks and the distant Serra d’Arga. The pool was set at a slightly lower level, allowing its full surface and deck to be perceived from above, while avoiding excessively high retaining walls in response to the natural slope. This decision also preserved the volumetric presence of the existing dovecote, located just seven metres away. The change in level further enabled the creation of a lower floor housing the gym, changing rooms, a hall, storage areas and the pool’s technical facilities.
The pool area, open and luminous, projects northwards but remains naturally sheltered from prevailing winds by the mountains behind. Its placement allows sunlight from all quadrants throughout the day, reinforcing its strong morning vocation — ideal for breakfast, leisurely lunches and long hours spent by the water.
In the third moment, to the west of the barn, a more secluded exterior space was created — defined by existing and newly built walls — intended for late-afternoon and evening use. Its introverted nature makes it suitable for gatherings, celebrations or even small festivities, extending the hotel’s social and outdoor life.
Regarding the barn itself, the intervention adopts the idea of a “hull” — a new volume constructed within the surviving stone shell. The original walls were consolidated, and upon them rests a continuous, heavy and robust slab of brownish, almost cyclopean concrete, incorporating river sands and small stones. This materiality anchors the building to the landscape and reinforces its tectonic presence.
The openings were conceived as continuous apertures separated by narrow, deep piers that create shadow, density and depth — functioning as a structural brise-soleil. The interplay of light, matter and thickness defines the architectural expression, binding the slab, the interior partitions and all new components into a single coherent structure. The new volume inhabits the ruin with precision and respect, renewing it.
The typological exception is the restaurant/bar, conceived as a polyvalent space and as a stitching element between the two exterior realms. Its configuration — almost like a short, luminous tunnel — creates a constant physical and atmospheric connection between west and east, allowing both sides of the intervention to communicate throughout the day and night.
Taken as a whole, the project restores the barn to an active role within the estate: a point of connection, balance and extension of both the main Paço and the boutique rural hotel it now supports. It is an intervention born from respect for the ruin and the landscape — reinterpreting them, reintegrating them and bringing them back to life in the present.
