The Building
The architectural structure of the ICBIE headquarters consists of three floors that date back to the early 20th century, but perhaps the first construction work on the building began in the late 19th century. The eclectic style seems to blend in with a serene and elegant liberty style, with something of the baroque style and classical English influences, which are evident not only in the size of the windows but also in their geometry. In fact, it has a tympanum to the east and another to the west, with false pillars and capitals, decorations with scallop shells, a shell symbolizing wealth, and with floral crowns and three circles, which surely portray some esoteric symbolism, probably important to the contracting family or even to the architect.
At the entrance is located the environment hosting ME.PE. Memories of the Peninsula.
A patio gives access to the main floor, which house a study room combined with the library and three other rooms for administration and internal organization.
A hall with a view of the sea for exhibitions and conferences connects the two floors via a spiral staircase in jacaranda wood. On the upper floor there is another hall with a view of the sea.
As hygienic facilities we have four well distributed rest rooms.
On the second floor we also have the restricted access rooms with 3 more rooms and one, large hall, kitchen and bathroom.
The solid walls were laid with a mixture of whale oil, bricks and mortar. The floor is covered with hardwood floors, restored without altering the original structure.
About 40 windows and 20 doors were restored and the wooden roof was reconstructed with ceramic tiles, keeping the old structure. The electrical installation was totally renovated, an urgent and necessary intervention to avoid a possible fire, considering the disastrous conditions it was in before.
Like other buildings in the Ribeira neighborhood, the headquarters was built as a large summer house, 6 km away from Pelourinho and Mercado Modelo, at the time an active port and mercantile area of the city of Salvador. The final part of the Itapagipe Peninsula was then a fazenda, or rather a large property that belonged to the wealthy Amado Bahia family of ship-owners.
The same family that built, almost at the same time, the famous Solar Amado-Bahia, a monument protected by the Federal Government, a miniature “Versailles” for the Bahian upper bourgeoisie.
So many other typical buildings began to appear at that time, at first for the numerous children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the Amado Bahia family, and it is assumed that many plots of land were sold to divide the large farm into small properties. This assumption comes from the speed with which a large number of small houses were built between the 1910s and 1930s, considering that perhaps the family consisted of about three hundred members. Our headquarters evidently belonged to a grandson of the family, as it is distinguished by its discreetly imposing proportions and serene and sober elegance.
From the 1950s on, it was the headquarters of the Esporte Clube Bahia de Futebol, which probably rented it until the end of the 1960s. The story goes that Dona Raquel, the oldest descendant of the Bahia Ramos family, lived in this mansion until the early 1970s and preserved the building well.
The degradation of the property began during the 1980s and 1990s.
From the late 90’s to the end of 2003, it was rented and operated several activities such as a painter’s and sculptor’s studio, more than one restaurant, a printing shop, a night club, a service agency, a handicrafts lab, a gas depot, a bicycle repair shop, etc.
THE RESTORATION
When we arrived, we found the roof completely ruined, the wood was devoured by the terrible tropical termites, there were cracks in the plaster of the inside walls, the electrical installation was very compromised, water had leaked in, the toilets were in terrible conditions, besides the doors and windows badly fitted, the floors
and ceilings had cracks in the wood or were completely loose.
However, guided by great enthusiasm, the initial and urgent restoration was quick and almost miraculous. We gave the building back its history and youth, that is, a new life. Today it is no longer an abandoned, decaying monument, as, unfortunately, there are so many others in the most beautiful and oldest parts of Salvador that are almost always scandalously torn down to rebuild modern buildings.
Besides the big house described above with its entrance on Rua Porto dos Tainheiros, the association has a large physical structure in the back and, because it is a corner building, it also has a side entrance on Rua Júlio David.
The side entrance gives access to a multifunctional room for film screenings, sports activities, scenic shows and other types of events, besides a classroom plus two bathrooms and an outdoor space of about 150m2.
