![Vila Velha Museum / Belém Lima Arquitectos - Facade, Windows](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5015/a21e/28ba/0d5a/4b00/0712/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414064560)
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Vila Real, Portugal
Text description provided by the architects. Silent and hermetic, the Vila Velha Museum appears to be the mimesis of the granite escarpments that girdle the rivers, a mimesis of archaeological labours.
![Vila Velha Museum / Belém Lima Arquitectos - Handrail](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5015/a1f7/28ba/0d5a/4b00/0706/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414064590)
Within it old and archaic are linked to the new. The past runs through it like sap inside an old tree. From the outside we see a compact building, from the inside it seems to levitate, floating above nature and the ruins. Like an enigma, the Vila Velha Museum opens momentarily only to shut again.
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5015/a1e0/28ba/0d5a/4b00/06ff/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414064601)