Fafe: The Memory Station — interpretative museum

The Memory Station is an interpretative museum—a time capsule housed in Fafe’s emblematic railway station, which has been decommissioned since 1986. Within this space, drawing on the history, traditions, and natural features that characterise Fafe, the visitor experience transforms into an unforgettable journey for all guests, who will leave with a suitcase full of knowledge.
Comprising three capsule carriages and an exhibition area, each element of this museological complex serves as a window to different eras of Fafe's history—reflecting its past, present, and future—offering guests an immersive and interactive experience.

In the first carriage, visitors are transported to the rural origins of Fafe, a time when the land was the sustenance and heart of the community. Here, the story of the Brazilian travellers — emigrants who returned after building their fortunes in Brazil—is told in detail. These men and women brought with them not only wealth but also the ability to influence both culture and society, blending with local traditions, shaping urban architecture, and moulding Fafe into the place it is recognised as today.

Emigration is an integral part of Portuguese history, even to this day. This interactive installation recalls the sacrifice of the "Brazilians" of Fafe, who left to build fortunes they would later invest in the city. With this installation, we aim to transport visitors to The Memory Station back in time, allowing them a glimpse into what the most important items people carried with them to distant lands were, helping them feel less homesick.

FEATURES:
1. Interactive installation featuring original suitcases from the time.
2. When opening a suitcase, the visitor sees a representation of the contents transported back then.
3. Each time a suitcase is reopened, the displayed content automatically reveals a different story.

With this solution, we aimed to offer visitors an opportunity to encounter notable figures from Fafe, providing them with an immersive journey into the region's history and the people who shaped it. An interactive installation, inspired by a neural network model, features various luminous points that, through visitor interaction, reveal the personalities who have contributed to shaping Fafe's history over time.

FEATURES:
1. Projection of a neural network with its vast points and connections.
2. Each point reveals a piece of the city's history: illustrious citizens of Fafe, significant episodes in the city's past, and important documents.

Through the window of time, visitors can catch a glimpse of legends such as the Justice of Fafe and traditions like the game of sticks, reliving the spirit of communal justice that characterised the region.
Here, we have combined different styles and techniques, such as collages of archival images, traditional animation, and common motion graphics, to bring to life vivid stories from the past and provide visitors with an outstanding experience.

In the second carriage, the narrative moves forward to the present, showcasing Fafe through an immersive video landscape where the central object of the narrative is a magical clock. This artifact symbolizes the flowing time and connects generations of Fafe inhabitants, highlighting the cultural, social, and economic riches of the municipality. This museum space celebrates Fafe's ongoing evolution, emphasizing the defense of traditions and the natural adaptation to the new time. Above all, it is an invitation to the passengers of this immersive journey to explore Fafe at the end of their visit.
Likewise, the visitor is invited to explore the multiplicity of Fafe – the "Salto da Pedra Sentada," referencing the Rally of Portugal, the oak forest, the wind farm, the Queimadela Dam, and the Santa Rita Hydroelectric Plant are some of the must-see highlights on this proposed journey of discovery.

Lastly, the third carriage heads towards the future on the path of sustainability, renewable energies, and the richness of the municipality's natural heritage. This space aims to inform and inspire, involving visitors in ecological practices, offering the opportunity to interact with the "Vitelinhas," Fafe's shared bike system, symbolizing the community's commitment to soft mobility, environmental sustainability, and ecotourism. This commitment to a green future reflects the vision of the city seeking responsible growth, protecting and valuing the environment for future generations.

Here, visitors are invited to participate in an interactive game involving bicycles that are part of the shared mobility system (the "Vitelinhas") and energy generation.

MECHANICS:
1. Choose and mount one of the four available bicycles.
2. Each bicycle simulates energy generation produced by a wind farm.
3. Visitors are challenged to generate as much energy as possible within a limited time.
4. During the game, participants can visualise the amount of energy they generate in real time.
5. As you participate, learn interesting facts about sustainable practices implemented in the Fafe region.

This interpretative museum is not just a place to learn about Fafe's history. It is a platform for dialogue where different perspectives and narratives meet and interact with the sole purpose of living and feeling Fafe.

CONCEPT & DIRECTION – Helder da Rocha Pereira
CREATIVE DIRECTION – Arina Zhumasheva
3D PRODUCTION – Nazariy Voloshchuk, Joana Vieira
DESIGN – Arina Zhumasheva, Telma Santana, Aleksei Kurilov, Rita Miranda
MOTION DESIGN – Adrian Soto, Beatriz Sales, Duarte Carvalho
DEVELOPMENT – Mauricio Ferreira, Juliana Quintas, Felipe Gomes
SOUND DESIGN – Juliana Quintas
INSTALLATION & SUPPORT – Fernando Madaleno