Rural Tourism House | Mariana Macedo

This was a conversion project – an old building which used to manage and storage
corn into a facility envisioned to receive Rural Space Tourism. From this proposition, a theoretical and practical work were developed for my Master thesis.

It starts with a land in a small parish in Vale do Ave, Minho, with three remnants structures – the old corn managing building surrounded by two old corn containers. These represent the importance of the Corn Culture in Minho’s character and landscape, where Nature and country
environment still keep a strong presence. After studying the building’s typology – a sequeiro – and its meaning as a symbol of popular architecture in the North of the country, it was clear the importance of preserving these buildings, or at least their shape, since nowadays their function has become out of context.

This proposal aimed the construction of a new building that honored the preexistent but that was also representative of the moment when it was constructed. The main goal was to accomplish a solid and consistent project, that would bring life to that place, naturally fitting into its landscape, history and social life. So that that new element, initially strange, will become part of the new whole. So that it can, again, shelter men and become a stage for life.