Architectural Affordances_Atlas 10_Pousada de Viseu

The Hospital de Sao Teotónio, located in Viseu, Portugal, opened in 1842. Belonging to the NGO Santa Casa da Misericórdia, it served the city until 1996 when the state regional hospital was built. It was then sold to become part of the national chain of heritage hotels “Pousadas de Portugal”, under a design by Gonçalo Byrne Architects, opening its doors in 2009. The architect preserved the building’s skeleton with its thick granite structural walls, the main staircases in stone and the entire cloister area, adding for functional reasons and compliance with the safety regulations, four columns of equidistant stairs, Two lifts and another one for hotel services only. The design proposed replacing the existing roof with a very horizontal floor, creating a line of shadow on the four sides. The central cloister was covered with a system of skylights for interior comfort. This allowed the perimeter windows to be removed from the corridor wings, recreating an open circulation overlooking the old cloister, now turned into a large lounge area lit from above, enhancing its centrality.