The Quinta de Delães redevelopment project, winner of the fourth edition of the Januário Godinho architecture award, and the project to restore the headquarters of Crédito Agrícola do Médio Ave, which received an honourable mention from the competition jury, are
"good examples" of urban redevelopment that preserves the memory of buildings and architecture by upgrading the built environment, said Mário Passos, mayor of the town, at the award ceremony this Monday.
Promoted by the company Courtesywizard, the Quinta de Delães redevelopment project endeavoured to maintain the original design of the space, which dates back to 1958 and was designed by the architect Mário Abreu. "We took great care (to restore and rehabilitate within the original parameters) because we realised from the outset the value of the building's original design, which was built in harmony with its surroundings," said Manuel Reis Campos, who bought the estate and restored it.
An engineer by profession, Manuel Reis Campos pointed out the value of the Januário Godinho award "which recognises not only the appreciation of heritage, but also of all those involved in the urban regeneration process".
The Januário Godinho Prize, with a monetary value of 7,000 euros, was created in 2017 with the aim of promoting the safeguarding and enhancement of the built heritage of the municipality of Famalicão, as well as promoting the dissemination of the work carried out by designers, builders and developers, awarded biennially. In this case, as there was no intervention by a team of designers, the amount awarded to the promoter was 2,000 euros, in accordance with the award's regulations.
There were four projects in the competition, works carried out in the municipality of Famalicão between 2021 and 2023. In addition to the winning project, the competition jury also awarded an Honourable Mention to the project to restore the headquarters of Crédito Agrícola do Médio Ave, located in Famalicão city centre.
Here too, particular care was taken to preserve the space "in a complex project, but one in which we managed to enhance the memory of the building, which we have now given back to the city so that it can be used as a space for different initiatives," said Germano Abreu, chairman of the board of directors of Caixa de Crédito Agrícola do Médio Ave.
It's worth remembering that Januário Godinho was a key figure in modern Portuguese architecture, and in Vila Nova de Famalicão he left some examples of this vision, including the Paços do Concelho building and the old courthouse.
"Through this award, we want to recognise the work of Januário Godinho, but also to encourage exemplary work, so that the process of intervention in urban regeneration preserves the memory of the buildings, values architecture and intervention in the public space," added Mário Passos.