The project for “Cadeia das Mulheres” rural store was thought initially as an embassy for the green wine, but quickly revealed itself as a great location for the promotion of Ponte de Lima’s regional products. 

The intervention proposes the restructuring of the building’s interior space, giving it a scenic character that takes us to the wine culture, where the wood takes an important role in a space that seems to bring us to the inside of a wine barrel. The outside doors and windows have been preserved. The building has two distinct and opposite entries, the first one on the ground floor, directly confronting with Passeio 25 de Abril and with the river bank, and the other at a high level, which is accessed from the medieval wall. The intervention takes advantage of both, offering a reinterpretation of the original three floors structure through an intervention that suggests a continuous ascension path.

On the ground floor, there is the store itself, with a bar for wine tasting and regional products sale. At the upstairs unusually arises a small auditorium, structurally supported by the “barrel”. This intervention allows the store to gain a dimension that transcends the product sales, also assuming an important role in their dissemination and promotion, with the possibility of holding a large number of activities: lectures, video projections and other events. The small auditorium also allows to enhance the cultural character of the building.

The excellent location near the river bank, in the heart of the town, the versatility of the program and the unexpected intervention allowed the store to implement itself as a true ambassador for Ponte de Lima’s culture.