Paula Rego's house

The House of Stories, Paula Rego's museum was built in her childhood hometown, Cascais. It opened in 2009 in a red building designed by Eduardo Souto de Moura.

The land and trees which previously existed at the site are incorporated as fundamental elements.

The building makes use of certain aspects of the region's historical architecture, which is here reinterpreted in a contemporary way. It can be immediately recognised thanks to its two pyramid-shaped towers and the red-coloured concrete used in its construction.

Four wings, of varying heights and sizes, make up the building. The building itself is subdivided into rooms which lead into one another and are laid out around the higher central room which houses the temporary exhibition. There is a shop, a cafe which opens onto a verdant garden and auditorium with 200 seats. It was Paula Rego herself who was responsible for the choice of architect.

 

Minimalist simplicity at the entrance.

After seeing the exhibits

we walked all around the house and the grounds

taking in the whole of the structure of the building

parts of which are a series of cubes.

The grounds have the same minimalist simplicity as the interior.

I will not blog about any of the art we saw here until October as it's time I got back to the present and started blogging about what we are doing now, in Greece.