The Dona Chica Residence is a residence in the municipality of Braga, northern Portugal, in the civil parish of Palmeira.
The project, which was originally designed by Ernesto Korrodi, experienced an early lack of funds, eventually changing hands and becoming the property of creditors.
Ernesto Korrodi came up with the idea and carried it out in 1915 under a contract with Joo José Ferreira Rego, who was then married to a Brazilian woman named Francisca Peixoto Rego. The patroness was the inspiration for the household name, which derives from her diminutive form, Chica. Francisca Peixoto Rego was involved in the importation of numerous Brazil-grown arboreal plant species for the property’s landscaping.
José Goncalves, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The construction was put on hold in 1919, at a time when the home’s interior still lacked basic comforts due to the low budget.
In 1938, it was sold to an English nobleman. Later, Alberto Torres de Figueiredo, the librarian for the Count of Vizela, bought the building.
José Goncalves, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Francisco Joaquim Alves de Macedo bought the palace and started building again, but he didn’t fix the outside or the inside, which were already damaged. This project was pointless and pointless because there were multiple disagreements during construction and arguments with the local government.
José Goncalves, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Numerous interior decorative elements, primarily ceramics like the azulejos, floor tiles, and roofing, were vandalized. Many of the artistically valuable tiles and the interior woods were destroyed, so there was nothing left to help with future work.
The building was purchased directly by the Junta de Freguesia de Palmeira—the civil parish council—in the second half of the 20th century, and it was sold to IPALTUR Investimentos Tursticos, S.A. under a long-term, renewable contract.
Under the direction of architect Paulo Tonet, a formal proposal to transform the residence into a cultural and creative space with a restaurant and other social services was made in 1992.
José Goncalves, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The manager of IPALTUR, Joaquim Costa, transferred ownership of the palace to the company Veloso – Empreendimentos Tursticos e Residenciais in November with the intention of repaying alleged debts, which the remaining creditors found inconvenient.
The property was designated as an Imóvel de Interesse Pblico (Property of Public Interest) on February 20, 1985.
As IPALTUR’s principal creditor, the Caixa Geral de Depósitos filed a petition for IPALTUR’s liquidation in 1993. This led to an uncertain future for the property because it was mortgaged at the time. In the end, the CGD purchased the property in 1998, and it was put up for sale by 2006. The local Junta de Freguesia for Palmeira attempted to reach an agreement with the CGD prior to placing the property up for sale. They made an offer of 820,000 euros for the property, but the bank turned them down.
José Goncalves, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The residence is on a large property surrounded by a wall and thick vegetation, four kilometers (2.5 miles) from Braga’s center.
Using a variety of styles, the four-story structure and its spaces are a mix of popular styles and materials. Segregated, the spaces have explicit style, associated utilizing crossing over components (materials and embellishing topics). One can determine the significance of that image in its construction by analyzing the constructive details.
It is difficult to determine whether the treatment of the windows was part of the building’s construction or the architect Korrodi’s architectural design because they are made of wood, iron, or both. On the other hand, unlike the rest of the building, the roof tiles have the designer’s signature on them and their color, green, blends in with the surrounding landscape.
In addition to a number of national species (such as palm, eyucalyptus, maple, wild pine, chestnut, Portuguese cedar, camellia, and Mimosa), the surrounding forest also contains several exotic species, including the medicinal plant Pau Santo and Brazilian almond and pine trees. There are also pedestrian trails.
In addition, there is a small lake with a grotto and fake Romantic-style stalagtites that attempt to evoke the medieval era. Instead of mimicking a geometric Baroque garden, the space follows the nationalistic language and mimics nature.
