For many years it was just a dream and, in more recent times, one of the main goals of the Motoclube de Faro. The new headquarters of the Farense association has already been inaugurated and is now open to the public. A multifaceted building, which will house a bar-concert hall, a hostel for passing motorcyclists and a gym, among other things.
It all started more than ten years ago in a participatory process, open to all partners, who created the first sketch of a building, very inspired by traditional Algarve architecture. The arrival of architect Miguel Caetano on the scene greatly changed the original project and gave the building a modern touch, without detracting from the original idea of the partners.
José Amaro, president of the motorcycle club of Faro, is Miguel Caetano, the architect responsible for the final project of the work, were the guests of «Impressions», a radio program run jointly by the Sul Informação and by Rádio Universitária do Algarve RUA FM.
The Motorcycle Club of Faro it already had a head office, located on the EN2, off the Faro, but it gains much more space here and gains new features. Of course, you have a house you can call your own. “This is a house built from scratch, on land that was given to us by the City Council. It is land and a house that are ours, although we are paying a loan, but we hope that it will become a reference point for motorcycling. Basically, this is what interests us», revealed José Amaro.
This was "an old aspiration" of the members of Motoclube, namely its founders, in which José Amaro is included, stressed the association's president. To get here, it was necessary to invest one million euros, the source of which was divided between the equity capital of Motoclube de Faro and a bank loan.
Much of the work on site was done by members and friends of Motoclube. There was also some support from companies, but essentially with logistical support and construction material. “Dyrup, for example, offered to paint the building”, stressed José Amaro.
New headquarters, expanded capabilities
The Motorcycle Club of Faro what had to be changed from the old to the new headquarters has already changed, but much of the material that anyone visiting the space will find is new. The association's recently inaugurated house is much larger than the previous one and required some investment in furniture.
In addition to a bar, which has a large living space and an area where a stage for live concerts can be installed, the new Motoclube headquarters has garages that members can rent, dormitories to accommodate motorcyclists passing through Faro, with separate areas for men and women and independent toilets, management and meeting rooms, a library dedicated to motorcycling and a large mezzanine on the first floor, open to the bar, located on the ground floor, which serves as seating area.
The bar area, which has a fireplace, is at the same time a kind of Motoclube museum, where you can browse the memories of more than 30 years of existence of the community. Photographs, posters, trophies and even motorbikes and engines decorate and frame the lounge, designed to look like a saloon from the old North American West.
The aforementioned fireplace set the tone for what promises to be the most striking architectural element of the Motoclube de Faro. On the building's facade, two elements stand out: the inevitable symbol of the motorcycle club and a steel chimney, which refers to a giant motorcycle exhaust pipe. An effect that, promised the architect Miguel Caetano, will be enhanced in winter, when the smoke comes out of the top.
Architectural design was always discussed with the partners
It was a long road, much discussed and that required constant changes, so that the final product was exactly what the customer intended. «Just last week we took down walls», Miguel Caetano confessed laughing.
O architect based in Faro took on the project of the new Motoclube headquarters at a time when it was already approved for construction. Since then, until last week, it made many changes, most of them conceptual, as deep structural changes would force the project to restart and submit it for a new application for a construction permit.
“This project had a series of phases. It started with the partners, at home, with a series of people involved in construction and design. They began to point to a program, what they understood as headquarters and which spaces they wanted, as they were the ones who would live in them», revealed the architect.
Miguel Caetano only joined the project at a later stage, after Motoclube had already obtained a license to build, with a project signed by Vivaldo Luís. reach the final, which were included in the project», he said.
Confessing that, at the time he was an "unknown to the Motoclube", for not being a motorcyclist, despite liking motorcycles, nor being a Faro, but the architect gained the trust of the management and partners. The architect began “by timidly altering some things”, but quickly changed substantially the project that came to his hands, both in the exterior and the interior. “I even got involved in the decoration part itself”, he said.
Although those responsible for the association told him that they wanted the headquarters to be “something modern, more daring”, Miguel Caetano had to win over the members with his work and make them understand his concept.
“We started to go from strangers to acquaintances and from acquaintances to friends. And today I have many friends there», he revealed. “Funny things happened. In the first meeting I had on the job, there were two or three elements of the direction I didn't know. And at the end, one of them said to me: Oh man, I thought you were a pain in the ass, but after all you're a cool guy», he said, laughing.
«This was a real open work, as from the first day it was always open to the partners. Anyone who wanted to come in and give their opinion, did so. And this is one of the things that we have a lot of difficulty in dealing with, due to the number of members and supporters that Motoclube has. We have to deal with all these opinions and this can enrich the work, because we [architects] don't know everything», said Miguel Caetano.
See more photos at Photo gallery about the new headquarters of the Motoclube de Faro
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