ARX

Designed between 1942 and 1945 by the architect and urban planner João Guilherme Faria da Costa, the urban development plan for the Alvalade neighbourhood, whose buildings were built in successive phases until the ensemble was completed in the early 1970s, was the working ground of some of the most important Lisbon architects of the time, such as Cristino da Silva, Cassiano Branco, José Segurado and Ruy d'Athouguia, among others.

Among the many aspects that made this neighbourhood one of the capital's most successful examples, the plan provided for the main intersections to be marked by buildings of a larger scale, as would happen at the crossing of Avenida dos Estados Unidos da América and Avenida de Roma. The design of these buildings, jointly authored by José Segurado (brother of Jorge Segurado) and Filipe Figueiredo, began in 1952, and their construction would be completed at the turn of the 1960s.

This ensemble would become an emblematic reference of Lisbon modernism and of the ideologically renewing spirit (opposed to the regime) championed by many intellectuals of the time (artists, writers, filmmakers, etc.), who gathered at the famous Café Vá-Vá, located at the base of one of the buildings. The buildings would also serve as the setting for Paulo Rocha's seminal film "Os Verdes Anos" (The Green Years), which would go on to become a symbol of the Portuguese New Cinema.

At the top of one of these buildings (the Café Luanda building) lies the subject of this project: a set of spaces referred to as "ateliers" in the original design, bathed in soft north light captured through high windows, and enjoying superb panoramic views over the city to the horizon, whether the Tagus River or the airport, itself also a symbol of Lisbon modernism.

The brief was relatively simple: to adapt the space for residential use, removing the many alterations introduced over the years, which, through partition walls and false ceilings, concealed the exceptional spatial richness envisioned by José Segurado and Filipe Figueiredo. Rather than adding elements, the task was to clean, simplify and organise, in an attempt to reveal once again the beauty that had been lost.