Porto - Casa da Musica

Gail and Pam got up early and took all of our laundry, in their roller suitcases, to a small laundromat in the neighborhood. We could have had our housekeeper help us use the machine in the apartment, for 3 euros per load, but the laundromat had dryers too. Gail and Pam figured out how to use the machines and were back to the apartment with our clothes in short order.

After a great breakfast of scrambled eggs with veggies, Nancy, Pam and I headed over to Casa da Musica for a tour. I thought maybe we'd see old instruments in glass display cases, and sound-proof practice rooms (obviously, I'm easily entertained) for the 10 euro fee, but it turned out to be a lot of very interesting info about the architect and his design of the building.

Casa da Musica. Rain on the plaza in front of it adds a nice perspective

Rem Koolhaas, who also designed the Seattle Public Library, did an amazing job on this building, and it was so interesting to see and hear about the spaces he designed. Porto was selected in 2001 as a Culture Capital of Europe, which precipitated the building of this concert hall. It was to be completed by 2003, but missed the deadline by 2 years, finally reaching completion in 2005. I believe the guide told us that the project also exceeded the estimated budget by a substantial number. Koolhaas' vision of the project was as if a meteor had come crashing down in the middle of the neighborhood, and that's how it impressed us.

Our guide did a great job of  showing us the unique features of the building.

The view of the plaza from the second story windows.
The Casa da Musica is quite a contrast from other buildings in the neighborhood.

A door incorporated into the room tiled with traditional Portugese murals

Stark, modern lights in the ceiling

Our guide told an interesting story about how, upon seeing the initial design, some of the decision-makers insisted that there be some box seats added to the main concert hall. Koolhaas hadn't included box seats because every seat in the hall was gifted with the same wonderful sound, the acoustics being so precise. He added the box seats, but located them in the absolute worst place on the walls, so that those seats either couldn't see the stage, or couldn't hear the concerts as well as the cheapest seats in the house. The guide explained that Koolhaas was opposed to elitism.

Glass tubing creates total soundproofing of this room overlooking the performance hall

Nancy just couldn't resist the sloping floor

Modern tile designs decorated some of the rooms

Lots of sound-muffling surfaces

The handrail for the staircase was a slot in the wall

Floor to ceiling windows look out onto the Rotunda da Boavista

Even the flooring was very unique. The strips of metal seemed to move a little as we walked on it, maybe to collect the dirt or water that visitors tracked in.

After lunch at the apartment, we headed over to Bolhao market, but found that it was closed on Sunday. From there we went to the Porto Cathedral. It was a bit rainy by then, but Janet and I climbed the tower to get an amazing view of the city.























We had leftovers for dinner, and our housekeeper Marianna's son had baked us a delicious vanilla cake, which we polished off for dessert. He was familiar with the American sit-com, Golden Girls, and noted the similarity of our group, some with platinum hair, to the TV stars.