To erect this abstract sculptural building the architects employed a mix of in situ concrete and two leaves of masonry, at places augmented by steel beams. On the outside the facades have a 60 mm composite thermal insulation system covered with a smooth render. For the pyramidal ceilings in the interior a slightly modified standard acoustic ceiling system was used, which is mounted on a substructure of metal tracks. The form of these ceilings reflects the wish to structure the large interior into smaller, more easily grasped compartments and areas.
Almost square in shape, the building provides a meeting place for the approximately 200 residents while also housing a public cafeteria. The meeting centre can be entered only from inside the urban block that belongs to the old persons home; the large openings that face onto the street all have fixed glazing. The main entrance is a sliding door at one corner of the building. Three further openings to the courtyard have large glazed pivoting doors that can be swivelled open when events are being held. As these were not acceptable as panic doors two additional escape routes to the outside were needed, which lead through the ancillary spaces at the corners.
The two principal functions, meeting hall and café, share the central space of the new building and can be separated from each other by drawing full-height curtains. The curtain tracks are almost completely concealed in the ridges of the ceiling. In the area of the cafeteria small roof lights were made at the tips of the pyramids. In contrast the brief specified that it should be possible to black out the multi-purpose hall completely and consequently here no openings were made in the roof, daylight enters only through the facades. The electric light fittings are integrated in circular recesses in the ceiling and are fixed so that they shine into the pyramids and never directly downwards.
So as not to compromise the building's minimalist appearance the architects dispensed with flashings at the edges of the roof, which was possible thanks to the low level of precipitation in Alentejo. The flat roof is sealed with a liquid plastic laid on an intermediate layer of reinforced concrete. It is intended to give the roof construction additional stability and to minimise temperature-related stresses in the roof skin. For the floor in the hall Aries Mateus chose a light grey epoxy resin coating that was intended to completely eliminate the risk of stumbling for the residents, many of whom are very frail. The floor slab consists of two layers of reinforced concrete with plastic void formers between them. In the architects' experience this is an expensive but effective measure against rising damp from the earth.
