When it comes to sports, Braga punches above its weight. While the Portuguese municipality only boasts some 200,000 residents, the local soccer team — S.C. Braga — is a national powerhouse, regularly winning domestic competitions and even taking home a continental European trophy in 2008. What’s more, the team’s stadium is an architectural marvel by Eduardo Souto de Moura, which was . Just around the corner, a new physiotherapy and rehabilitation clinic introduces another entry to the town’s distinct sporting design culture.
While the 1,140-square-metre Fisiminho rehab complex is no match for the sheer architecture spectacle of Souto de Moura’s neighbouring stadium, local designers imbued the modest facility with a graceful — and decidedly optimistic — ambiance. Led by Braga-born architect Luís Cunha, the emerging practice has created a space where colour, texture and natural light converge to create a comforting ambiance, eschewing a clinical design language in favour of a warmer environment.
From the exterior, the Fisiminho building’s simple, rectilinear form offers a hint of the inviting, hospitality-inspired environments within. While the vertical texture of the dark aluminum cladding creates a subdued two-storey backdrop, wood soffits and extruded window frames introduce an organic note to the façade. Inside, the wood tones are combined with soft lighting to create a sense of welcome. Past the luxurious marble reception desk, the complex unfolds in a series of treatment rooms and physiotherapy spaces.
On the upper floor, well-equipped gyms are bathed in natural light and framed in soothing neutral tones, making for calm yet energized environments. In the hallways, meanwhile, floor-to-ceiling wood wall coverings introduce a note of mid-century style, while a boldly colour-blocked stairwell transforms what could have been a bland liminal space into an exuberant hub of black and yellow hues.
Similarly, the teal tone and scalloped surfaces of interior walls elevate the consultation space and treatment room with a touch of panache. Meanwhile, a more sober palette shapes spaces for medical diagnosis and physical examination. Here, too, a design sensibility subtle shapes the spaces with warmth and comfort, combining an interplay of muted hues with strategically placed window openings.
Even the Fisiminho bathrooms and locker rooms are elegant in their own right, thanks to the rigorous material unity of grey ceramics and wood accents. The result is a tranquil space — and one full of reminders that recovery is on the horizon.
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