A Brasileira - Pestana Hotel | APEL Arquitectura

Being the building of 'A Brasileira` - one of the most emblematic coffee shops in the city of Porto-, replete with history and unique constructive elements, it was always been the owner´s intention to maintain and restore all the artefacts having important architectural and decorative significance.

As such, having in consideration the suitability of the original building into its final proposed program (the construction of 5-star singular building hotel) the architectural project, developed by APEL, begins from the following basis:

To maintain and recover the existing façades, including the magnificent iron and glass canopy on Rua Sá da Bandeira, as well as all the decorative elements;
To preserve the two eating spaces: the restaurant - architectural copyright Architect Januário Godinho from 1938, and the coffee shop - designed by Architect Francisco de Oliveira Ferreira in 1903, for both their architectural and decorative importance, but above all  historical significance;
3.     To create new floors to meet the plan's requirements, albeit step-back, so as to give value the original façade, that was already in place on the 4th floor of the original building;  

To give value to the light well as an external leisure space, thus increasing its dimension;
To preserve the granite parapet
Regarding the exterior finishing, both the yellow-toned bevelled tiles on the existing façade and the floral design tiles on the set-back floor will be kept. For the finishing on the top floor, attic in dormer window style, zinc was the material of choice, as it is so present on the roofs of the buildings in downtown Porto.

About the interior finishing the use of noble and top range materials was sought, such as marble, wood, metal, hand-made tiles and mosaic glass tiles in order to capture the dignity that the building once possessed.

The original semicircular staircase designed by the architect Januário Godinho was preserved as the highlight of the reception of the hotel. This staircase connects with the basement, where the gym and meeting rooms are located.

Throughout the construction work, and with on-going demolitions, unpredictable situations arose that affected the original building plans. The building, originally thought to be solid and sound, turned out to be fragile and of poor quality structure. Exhaustive studies were necessary to reach a solution in order to safeguard the façades and guarantee, not only the sustainability of the construction work, but the future performance of the building itself.

Despite the complexity of the construction work, the coffee shop space (on the corner of two streets) stayed intact, merely requiring some meticulous restoration work.

It is worth mentioning that in March 2015, the building was vandalised and all the copper and brass parts were stolen. Meanwhile, they have all been reproduced and today can be found in their original places.