Escola Primaria-Portuguese Architecture

When I was in Portugal on business last month, I was lucky enough to have a lunch in the countryside. Located approximately 140 Km away from Lisbon, an old school house is running successfully as a restaurant offering many traditional Portuguese meals and local wines. As I sat inside the restaurant, I noticed the interesting arches that span the length of the dining room. Later in NYC, I searched on google to find the meaning behind the asymmetric arches. I found images of the school house abandoned.

In the 1940s , the New State of the Centennial Plan launched a program of school construction in mass that was intended to allow all children to have a Portuguese school at your fingertips, enabling you to increase the level of public education. Schools Plan of centenarians were built according to models typified adapted to local conditions, which allied with the feature traditional Portuguese architecture. Until the 1960s , were built more than 7000 of these schools, going to be at least one in almost all parts of the country, what became a trademark of Portugal.

The photos above were taken while I was at the Escola Primaria restaurant somewhere between Grandola and Santiago do Cacem.

Lunch time stroll through Midtown

There's a giant head on exhibit in Madison Square Park. I  watched as a few artists painted their own interpretations of the extra large white head by Spanish Sculptor Jaume Plensa. 

The Van Alen Book Store on 22nd Street designed by LOT-EK. To be honest, I have never heard of this firm until now. Their website sort of looks like the bookstore with its NEON YELLOW font type. I do appreciate this innovative idea of making stadium style seating with multiple doors suspended by steel cables. I would probably linger in this store a lot longer than I would linger near the giant head in Madison Square Park. 

My final stop on my lunchtime stroll is Limelight market.  This old church was renovated into a mini-mall, Ya'll! A mini-mall! 

The reason for my lunchtime stroll: Grimaldi's Pizza (located in Limelight). 

Dallas & Fort Worth, Texas

Dallas is not only known for its amazing BBQ and "hair-so-high it can talk to Jesus", but it also known for its downtown art district with numerous starchitect museums, opera houses, & theaters.  Fort Worth is only 35 miles away and holds architecture gems of its own.

AT&T Performing Arts Center Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, 2009 REX/OMA, Joshua Prince-Ramos (partner in charge) and Rem Koolhaas

AT&T Performing Arts Center
Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, 2009 Foster + Partners, Norman Foster

Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Cente, 1989 I.M. Pei

Nasher Sculpture Center, 2003 Renzo Piano

http://www.thedallasartsdistrict.org/art-in-architecture/architecture/

Kimbell Art Museum, Louis Kahn, recognized for its use in daylighting interior gallery space. 

The Modern Art Museum, Tadao Ando, whose architecture boost of pure minimal forms.