Description
A tribute to Lisbon’s history
Right in the heart of Lisbon’s historic center, overlooking São Jorge Castle and the Carmo Convent, this apartment is located on the top floor of a Pombalino-style building. It has been completely and carefully renovated by the contemporary architecture firm CASCA.
The apartment has a surface area of 130 sqm and comprises a beautiful living area, a kitchen, three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a 9 sqm mezzanine. An elevator project has been approved for the building. Ideal for a pied-à-terre or rental investment.
It enjoys an ideal location in Baixa Pombalina, 2 minutes from Praça da Figueira.
An approach that respects the original building
The building is located in the lower town, destroyed in the 1755 earthquake and rebuilt under the direction of the Marquis de Pombal. Over the course of time and remodeling, it has lost its original stylistic elements.
CASCA’s approach was respectful of the building’s history, and focused on restoring its architectural identity by enhancing the original elements and encouraging their reuse. The original earthquake-resistant wooden structure was exposed and restored, and the zenithal openings were enlarged to optimize the impression of space and light. The azulejos found on site were carefully recovered and now adorn the kitchen. The original doors were also reused in their original state and integrated into the new fittings, whose minimalist design in light wood provides a discreet and warm support for these testimonies to the site’s past.
The removal of some non-load-bearing partitions has enabled a new distribution of spaces and a fluid flow of traffic, more suited to a contemporary lifestyle.
The Lombardy style
Born of the rationality of the Enlightenment, Pombaline architecture stems from the plan to rebuild the city of Lisbon, destroyed in 1755 by the most devastating earthquake ever recorded on the European continent. Neoclassical and sober, its aesthetic is conditioned by the use of standardized materials and construction processes.
Implemented by Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, the first Marquis of Pombal, the reconstruction campaign broke with the city’s haphazard urban planning and replaced it with an orthogonal plan with perpendicular streets organized around a central axis. The buildings feature earthquake-resistant wooden structures, the first of their kind. The use of standardization enabled rapid construction, carried out by all the country’s craftsmen. This method was used to construct Lisbon’s buildings until 1920.
© Photos : Fernando Guerra | FG+SG
Technical information
Price including fees: €760,000
Co-ownership property.
ECD: IN PROGRESS
