A chirurgic and silent intervention. Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture
31/05/2022.
[LISB] Portugal
metalocus, JAVIER ARIAS
metalocus, JAVIER ARIAS
This simple accessibility project, entrusted to the Lisbon architecture studio Domitianus Architecture Studio, facilitates access to the Basilica da Estrela, a Catholic temple and former Carmelite convent considered a national monument, in the centre of Lisbon in front of one of the most popular gardens in Lisbon. the city, the Jardim da Estrela. The project has been named a finalist for the 2022 FAD International Awards and was selected for the 2022 EUmies Awards.
The building was commissioned at the end of the 18th century by order of Queen Maria I of Braganza after the birth of her son. The complex was never finished and remained unfinished, due to the political instability of the country due to the liberal struggles and the war of independence against France.
Following a typical neo-baroque style of the time, the floor plan of the complex had an asymmetrical composition: with a dome and double bell towers, the proposal for the Basilica also included a royal square with a statue of the Queen to reinforce its monumentality. The north wing of the convent and the square were never built, being replaced by an exotic garden.
The building was commissioned at the end of the 18th century by order of Queen Maria I of Braganza after the birth of her son. The complex was never finished and remained unfinished, due to the political instability of the country due to the liberal struggles and the war of independence against France.
Following a typical neo-baroque style of the time, the floor plan of the complex had an asymmetrical composition: with a dome and double bell towers, the proposal for the Basilica also included a royal square with a statue of the Queen to reinforce its monumentality. The north wing of the convent and the square were never built, being replaced by an exotic garden.
Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture. Photograph by Inês d’Orey
Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture. Photograph by Inês d’Orey
Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture. Photograph by Inês d’Orey
Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture. Photograph by Inês d’Orey
Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture. Photograph by Inês d’Orey
Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture. Photograph by Inês d’Orey
Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture. Photograph by Inês d’Orey
Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture. Photograph by Inês d’Orey
Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture. Photograph by Inês d’Orey
Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture. Photograph by Inês d’Orey
Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture. Photograph by Inês d’Orey
Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture. Photograph by Inês d’Orey
Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture. Photograph by Inês d’Orey
Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture. Photograph by Inês d’Orey
Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture. Photograph by Inês d’Orey
Location plan. Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture.
Site plan. Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture.
Floor plan. Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture.
Elevation. Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture.
North section. Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture.
South section. Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture.
Taxonomy. Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture.
Model. Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture.
Model. Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture.
The proposal by Domitianus - Architecture (a result of the Fábrica da Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Lapa commission) is elegantly located on one side of the Basilica, solving the problem of accessibility and managing to recover this small and discreet unfinished urban environment. Taking advantage of the unfinished state of the building, the studio materially approached the Basilica, making the additions with Lioz stone ashlars.
“We decided to use the same stone as the Basilica to design the new stereotomy. The Lioz stone blocks allowed us to create an analogy with the pre-existing architecture. We were trying to design something timeless. That is why we consider the intervention as a 'silent space'”.
Paulo Tormenta Pinto.
The project, which consists of the construction of a ramp to facilitate barrier-free access, the renovation of bathrooms for the disabled and a long public bench, becomes the integrating element of the adjacent square, appropriating a group of pink acacias ( Tipuana tipu) that dialogue with the new entrance as a colonnade, transforming the side of the basilica into an interesting public space.
Accessible Path to the Estrela Basilica by Domitianus Architecture. Photograph by Inês d’Orey.
Project description by D-A Studio
The new accessible path to the Estrela Basilica is a chirurgic and silent intervention, deployed in an empty area contiguous to the temple. The project consists of a subtle topographic operation, built with blocks of stone, in the continuity of the Basilica’s monumental churchyard.
Estrela Basilica, considered National Monument, is the central piece of the former Convent of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The set was planned in the late 18th Century order by the Queen Mary the 1st. Mateus Vicente de Oliveira and Reinaldo Manuel, at different times, were the architects, from the school of Mafra, that were in charge of this ambitious intervention.
Following a late baroque style, the project of the building foresaw a symmetric composition. In the initial plans, the Basilica, with its dome and the double steeple towers, would occupy a relief place. A royal square with the statue of the Queen was also planned to be built in front of the Basilica, aiming at reinforcing its monumentality. The peninsular war and then the liberal fights imposed the construction interruption. The north wing of the convent and square were never built. Instead of it, an exotic garden occupied those areas.
The new intervention takes advantage of the incomplete status of the building, promoting a plateau, built with blocks of lioz stone, the same material used in the monument. The big tipuana tipu trees, that featured the place, were integrated into the project. The trunks of those majestic trees suggest a colonnade that follows the new promenade architectural. A long bench limited the new accessible path, inviting people to a contemplative moment in this romantic garden, plenty of species brought from former Portuguese colonies of Africa and Brazil.
The intervention followed traditional methods, reproducing the systems used in the Estrela Basilica. In this sense, the Lioz limestone blocks are the main material, used both to build foundations and all the interventions. Handrails were built in steel. No other materials were used in the intervention. Considering the resistance of the solutions, there is low budget maintenance of the space.
More information
Architects
D-A Studio [Domitianus - Architecture, lda]. Architect.- Paulo Tormenta Pinto.
Design team
Rosa Maria Bastos and João Maria Oliveira Costa.
Collaborators
Construction manager.- Miguel Ponce Dentinho.
Structural engineering.- Miguel Villar.
Landscape.- Catarina Assis Pacheco.
Electricity.– Rúben Sobral.
Model.– Bernardo Pimentel.
Structural engineering.- Miguel Villar.
Landscape.- Catarina Assis Pacheco.
Electricity.– Rúben Sobral.
Model.– Bernardo Pimentel.
Client
Fábrica da Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Lapa.
Construction
João Fernandes and Nuno Fernandes.
Area
305 m².
Dates
Year began.- 2019.
Year completed.- 2021.
Year completed.- 2021.
Location
LatLng.- (38.7132651, -9.1600587). Praça da Estrela. 1200-667 Lisbon, Portugal.
Photography
Paulo Tormenta Pinto, Rosa Maria Bastos. D-A Studio
D-A Studio [Domitianus- Architecture, lda] is an architecture firm, founded in 2004, in Lisbon, led by Paulo Tormenta Pinto and Rosa Maria Bastos. With more than a decade and a half of existence, D-A Studio operates contractually with public and private entities, developing projects in architecture, conservation and restoration, urbanism, and public space. The work developed by D-A Studio was awarded and distinguished, being frequently published in architecture books and magazines.
This site presents a selection of projects and buildings, which in its set contributed to clarifying the conceptual line followed by D-A Studio. Projects of various scales explore multiple programmatic itineraries, based on detailed solutions, where the quality of space results from the articulation between architectural culture and the spirit of each place.
D-A Studio considers the influence of the architectural debate promoted in Portugal during the last quarter of the 20th century, as a starting point for the work it carries out. D-A Studio seeks to affirm a humanist, and integrative discourse, in close articulation with the territory and the environment. At D-A Studio each project is explored in a rigorous way, considering that the quality of architecture is consummated by the relationship with time.
This site presents a selection of projects and buildings, which in its set contributed to clarifying the conceptual line followed by D-A Studio. Projects of various scales explore multiple programmatic itineraries, based on detailed solutions, where the quality of space results from the articulation between architectural culture and the spirit of each place.
D-A Studio considers the influence of the architectural debate promoted in Portugal during the last quarter of the 20th century, as a starting point for the work it carries out. D-A Studio seeks to affirm a humanist, and integrative discourse, in close articulation with the territory and the environment. At D-A Studio each project is explored in a rigorous way, considering that the quality of architecture is consummated by the relationship with time.
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