Inaugurated on September 26, 1965, by the then Minister of Public Works, Eduardo Arantes de Oliveira, the Ribeira da Janela Hydroelectric Power Station was designed by architect Chorão Ramalho.
The building is located at the mouth of Ribeira da Janela, in the municipality of Porto Moniz, the longest and most abundant creek on the island of Madeira, which originates in the middle of the mountains and crosses the mountains before flowing into the Atlantic Ocean in the parish of Ribeira da Janela.
The power station is located on a small platform at the base of a rocky massif, which in a way “shelter” it. This peculiar situation led the architect to pay special attention to the architectural composition and its relationship with the surroundings, preferring to accept the dissonance of the new building with the local environment. Hence, there was a concern with the relationship between the building and its surroundings, as well as its own value as a landmark building in the landscape.
The architectural design, by architect Raul Chorão Ramalho, dates from 1958. He was a prominent figure among the generation of Portuguese modernist architects who emerged after the end of World War II, with work in mainland Portugal, Madeira, and Macau.
The landscape architecture project, designed to minimize the negative impact on the landscape, was entrusted to architect António Viana Barreto.
Chorão Ramalho was born in February 1914 in Fundão. He studied architecture at the Lisbon School of Fine Arts, later transferring to the Porto School of Fine Arts, where he graduated.
He worked in the Urbanization Services of the Lisbon City Council (with Faria da Costa and Keil do Amaral) and in the General Directorate of Urbanization Services of the Ministry of Public Works. In 1945, he began his work as a freelance professional. He has other works in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, starting with another hydroelectric power station in Fajã da Nogueira, the former Quinta do Sol hotel, the Porto Santo Primary School building, and even the adaptation of the old and centuries-old Funchal Customs House to serve as the Legislative Assembly of Madeira.
In the description of the work, which appears on the Monuments Portal, the Ribeira da Janela Hydroelectric Power Plant, built in a modernist style, "has a roof made of reinforced concrete slabs independent of the support structure. The pillars of the porticos are thickened to ensure greater solidity in the area exposed to water and to give robustness to the foundation of the complex. This thickening is partly a consequence of the concrete execution system, which was contained by stone blocks arranged in elevation to form a formwork, remaining as the apparent facing. This stone comes from the riverbed and is only dressed."
The Ribeira da Janela Power Plant was the first of two hydroelectric power plants built in the second phase of Madeira's hydro-agricultural plan.
With fifty years of activity, this is the only power plant in permanent operation that is located by the sea, at the mouth of a river, and it is not possible to reuse the water for irrigation or for a second level of production. The building was constructed at an altitude of 11 meters. The plant's average annual contribution to electricity production in Madeira is around 8 GWh.
This place is definitely worth a visit, as it is a place where you can enjoy the views and nature of the entire parish of Ribeira da Janela, as well as appreciate this beautiful example of Portuguese modernist non-residential architecture.
