Posed up high on a hill, the Museum of Art and Archaeology of the Côa Valley – an area that is known to house an exceptional collection of Paleolithic engravings – takes up the axis that separates the José Esteves Valley from the Do Fornojusto Valley, across from the confluence of the Duero and Côa rivers.

The topography was essential in the design of the building, which has a big level difference between the entrance and the exhibition level. For this reason, the access takes place through the roof, which is also a viewing platform. A ramp leads visitors from this platform to the interior of the museum, organized in two floors: the first one contains the lobby, an auditorium, the exhibition halls and auxiliary premises (cloakroom, shop, restrooms, storage, etc.); and the second, on a lower level, houses the restaurant and the cafeteria, which enjoy impressive views of the valley through large corner windows.

On the outside, the building appears like a massive concrete construction linked to the territory through its texture, the result of using molds directly extracted from the rock for the formwork, and through its color, with the use of dyes based on the local slate.