A New National Center for Crafts and Design. A renewed vision on the art of design, crafts and culture in the city of Mindelo. These are the bases of this project. The project has 3 bodies, The old building the house of Senator Vera Cruz, the patio, and the new building. Each of these buildings has a life of its own, whether at the architectural level or at the functional level. The three spaces live in an independent manner by dialoguing with each other in a harmonious way. House of Senator Vera Cruz. Minimal works will be done done after having defined a route that passing in all the environments of the historic house, amplifies the fruition of the colonial period architectural structure, the ample spaces, the bright rooms. The white color chosen for the walls, either in the exterior or in the interior simplifies the perception of the environments and invites the concentration above the works exhibited inside, where will be the permanent collections of Cape Verdean crafts owned by the CNAD. Inside a cafe ', a bookshop, respectively on both sides of the house in close contact, either with the square or with the patio, will allow visitors to refresh themselves and purchase promotional material on Cape Verdean art and crafts. The patio, an open space, free, with trees, has filter function between the two main buildings. Inside, visitors can sit in the shade of the trees, rest and talk on the coffee tables, watching life take to the streets. The new building calls the visitor to the new square, puts curiosity in it, lures him to the craft center. Will be built but three floors, above the existing volume, the dimensions arise from the need to recover the existing building and at the same time with the same architectural gesture give to praça nova square a new architectural quality, dialoguing with the buildings around. What defines the architecture of the new building its the external skin. A simple structure in reinforced concrete and glass with a double ventilated façade, realized through the fixation in a light metallic structure of recycled metal barrels caps, that protect the building from the intense action of the elements. This choice defines the architecture, projecting it in the square and protecting it from direct sun exposure, modulating the light inside the spaces and drawing with light and shadows textures linked to the woven fabrics of the CNAD collection. The colored metal barrels, are an emblematic elements of the economy, material culture and Cape Verde craftsmanship. Through the barrels arrive in the islands the most different things, who are sent from the emigrants t their families The barrel is then reused in various ways, ranging from pan to building material for housing, from toy to element of constructive practice, through endless craft practices. For these reasons, being an easy material to find on the island, for its chromatic expressiveness, we decided to use it as an emblematic material of local crafts.