Casa de Serralves

The Casa de Serralves is a villa in the Serralves Gardens in Porto , in the Lordelo do Ouro district , in Portugal .

The building is considered an example of streamlined modern architecture in Portugal and was designed by the Portuguese architect José Marques da Silva in 1923. The villa is the seat of the Serralves Foundation, which runs the Serralves Museum . In 2012, the ensemble of villa and park was classified as a Portuguese national heritage due to its architectural and scenic importance.

history

Originally designed as a private residence, the villa and the surrounding park were commissioned by the second Count of Vizela, Carlos Alberto Cabral (1895–1968), on the site of his family's former summer residence on the outskirts of Porto. The building was built between 1925 and 1944 in what was then the outer area of the city of Porto and combines elements of the neoclassical, romantic and art deco styles. The building was designed by the architects José Marques da Silva (1869–1947) and Charles Siclis (1889–1944).

Several important European designers contributed to the interior design of the villa: Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann (1879–1933), René Lalique (1880–1945), Edgar Brandt (1880–1960), Ivan da Silva-Bruhns (1881–1980), Jules Leleu (1883–1961), Jean Perzel (1892–1986) and Raymond Subes (1893–1970).

Carlos Alberto Cabral and his wife Blanche Daubin moved into the villa in 1944, but only for a few years. The property was sold to Delfim Ferreira (1888-1960), Count of Riba d'Ave, in 1957. In 1987 the property was sold by the heirs of Delfim Ferreira to the Portuguese state, who wanted to build a museum of modern art on the site. The Serralves Foundation was established for this purpose and has been based in the villa since 1987. Since then, the Casa de Serralves has been hosting temporary exhibitions of modern and contemporary art. With the opening of the new Serralves Museum in 1999, both buildings are used as a museum.

Parque de Serralves

View from the Casa de Serralves into the park

The Parque de Serralves encloses the Casa de Serralves and the Serralves Museum. The 18.43 hectare park was designed in 1932 by the French landscape architect Jacques Gréber . The original garden of the Count of Vizela's homestead was much smaller than the current park. By purchasing land, the area was enlarged to its present size by 1940.

Serralves Museum

The Casa de Serralves is attached to the Serralves Museum , which opened in 1999 . The Serralves Foundation laid down the framework for the conception of the museum and the integration of the Casa in it in 1989. In 1991, the Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira was commissioned to design plans for the construction of a new museum building within the park area. Construction began on the new building in 1996; the museum opened on June 6, 1999 with the 'Circa 1968' exhibition. In the park surrounding the Casa and the new building of the museum, works of art by various contemporary artists are exhibited.