The walls will come down, the buildings will be rehabilitated and the surrounding public space will be intervened, in order to create a cultural quarter in Vila-Adentro de Faro, of which Fábrica da Cerveja will be the central and reference element.
This is a (very) reduced way of describing the Strategic and Functional Program for Fábrica da Cerveja, which was presented this Friday, the 18th, in Faro and which traces the future of this emblematic building, one of the ex libris from the Algarve capital. And this time, the process is really moving forward, guarantees the Faro municipal executive.
The Chamber, which for a long time and successive executives has been looking for the use to be given to this property, decided to go in search of an external look at the factory, to find the best way to fit it in the candidacy of Faro the European Capital of Culture in 2027.
The municipality contacted Gonçalo Louro, architect of Faro who has his own architecture office, based in Porto, Carlos Martins, who was executive director of Guimarães European Capital of Culture 2011, and Pablo Berástegui, former coordinator of Matadero, in Madrid, and challenged them to think about the future of the Fábrica da Cerveja and to present a project.
From here, the consortium was born that created the concept that idealizes a new life not only for Fábrica da Cerveja, but also for the entire surroundings.
«What we envisioned is that this is a participatory building, a building that can not only host, but can itself disseminate and produce culture, with a level of flexibility that we consider important, so that it is not a very closed structure» , explained Gonçalo Louro.
This is achieved with a multifaceted building, which ranges from auditoriums and exhibition halls to recording studios and a restaurant, where there are niches for the creative industries and cultural associations and which aims to appeal to residents and visitors.
Bearing in mind that Fábrica da Cerveja «has this public character, both for those who want to produce culture and for those who want to absorb culture», as well as its relationship with the surroundings and the fact that the building is «a reference» in the historic center of the city, «it made perfect sense that this would also contaminate the public space».
It Contamination, like so many others, begins with the tearing down of a wall, the one that surrounds the outer space on the west side of the factory, which faces Largo do Castelo, but also the alley between the factory and the Town Hall workshops.
Basically, it is about creating a new square, which will give direct access to the arcades of Fábrica da Cerveja.
From here, the consortium of designers thought of «other dynamics», namely the situation «of a museum that is also with great weaknesses and also needs to increase its space, because the collection is getting better and better».
In this case, the idea is to expand the Municipal Museum, «always within the old convent fence», through the creation of a new building of 3400 square meters and two floors. After this intervention, entry into this cultural space «is no longer made through Largo Afonso III and becomes through Largo do Castelo», that is, through the new square that will be created.
On the way, a new building connecting the museum and the factory will be erected on the site where there are now urban gardens and a new space for public enjoyment will be created in an area that is currently private property, but which the City Council is working to acquire.
The space in question includes a garden and a long section of the Vila-Adentro wall, which was already used to install a stage for Festival F and which was also the Land of Wonders, in the first Academic Weeks of the University of Algarve.
The plan also includes the construction of a support building for the brewery, on the latter property, and the acquisition and rehabilitation of the buildings south of the brewery, on the opposite side of Rua do Castelo.
With all this, we will «define this area of Vila-Adentro de Faro like a cultural quarter".
«In terms of commitment, this building is public, our idea is to keep it in the public sphere, with a cultural function. But we want the management of Fábrica da Cerveja not to be the responsibility of the municipality alone", said Rogério Bacalhau, president of the Chamber of Faro.
The idea is that this is a “shared, comprehensive space that can maintain its autonomy”.
«This is one of the investments and structuring equipment that we have thought of for the municipality and that follows on from what was done and which is defined in the strategic and cultural plan. There is a set of equipment and interventions that we want to develop and that we are working in this direction», said the mayor of Faro.
This will certainly be the most ambitious and, as such, will require a greater financial effort.
The first phase, which involves the demolition of the wall and the rehabilitation of the Fábrica da Cerveja block that now borders the new square, «will be around two million euros and something else».
«The second phase, with some buildings and the creation of the garden, will cost close to 3 million euros. The third phase, which is the rehabilitation of the main body, will cost 3,5 million. And, if we add the rehabilitation of the museum here, it will certainly be 5 million more», revealed the Mayor of Faro.
“In other words, today, with the estimates we have, we are thinking of a global investment of more than 13 million euros. It is clear that it will not be all done at once, but over the years”, he added.
Despite the expectation that the candidacy for European Capital of Culture would be approved, which would mean that Faro would have access to an extraordinary financial package, none of this is thought of in terms of these possible funds.
«This project is made looking exclusively at municipal funds. (…) Everything that we have presented today is supported by the Municipal Budget», assured Paulo Santos, vice-president and councilor for Culture at the Chamber of Deputies. Faro.
The plan is to make the investment «phased and planned», even so that it is «feasible».
«We will launch the architectural project for the first phase later this year and prepare the second phase soon. These two steps, if it were possible, would be done in one sitting. But we cannot do that, because the first phase is only on municipal land and the second is not, it already involves private land”, he said.
At the session, also councilor Sophie Matias had revealed that the idea is to have the 1st and 2nd phase ready by 2026/27. The advancement of the 3rd phase, which will be the most extensive intervention, will happen sooner, if Faro become European Capital of Culture in 2027, but it will not be carried out in such a “hurry” if the Faro candidate is not chosen.
But there is a guarantee on the part of the municipal executive: «this process is irreversible!».
Before arriving here, there was almost a century of «false tricks» when it comes to the use of this building.
«It starts with the name, Fábrica da Cerveja, when a liter of beer was never produced here», recalled Paulo Santos.
After being transformed into a factory, taking advantage of parts of the wall and the old castle of Faro, this building served as a magazine and as a support unit for the former Largo de São Francisco barracks.
More recently, and after a period of abandonment, its transformation into the Museum of Contemporary Art of Faro, a project that also never got off the ground.
However, the municipality of Faro entered into a process of financial reorganization and was obliged, in this context, to put the Fábrica da Cerveja up for sale at public auction. No one was interested in buying it. And “thank goodness”, says Paulo Santos now.
It was this lack of interest on the part of the private sector in acquiring the property, to give it another purpose, that allowed the Chamber, from the moment it saw its financial situation stabilized, to look at Fábrica da Cerveja with different eyes.
And, as it is never too late to correct a false start, the name of this cultural space will now be able to be said without fear of being inaccurate.
«The project foresees the creation of a space where a craft beer is produced, which visitors can taste. I hope that on the day the renovated factory is inaugurated we will be able to toast with this beer», wished Carlos Martins, one of the designers.
Photos: Hugo Rodrigues | Sul Informação
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