Prédio Fanqueiros 156 | João Tiago Aguiar, arquitectos

The intervention in the vacant building at Rua dos Fanqueiros, No. 156, stems from an intrinsic responsibility: to restore the architectural dignity of one of the rare buildings to have survived the 1755 earthquake. More than a rehabilitation, the project set out to excavate memory, revealing a structural and spatial authenticity long obscured by layers accumulated over decades.

From the outset, the project adopted a methodology of restraint. Each recovered or newly introduced element sought to respect the truth of the existing fabric, allowing the original architecture to regain presence, proportion and expression. This critical stance guided all formal and material decisions.

At ground-floor level, the shops were freed from later additions that had compromised their depth and scale. The removal of mezzanines restored the full reading of the arches, re-establishing the verticality and transparency characteristic of Pombaline commercial typologies and reactivating a direct relationship between interior and street.

The introduction of a fully transparent glass lift, discreetly positioned within the stair core, preserves the nobility of the stairwell, whose rational geometry remains visible and intact. The lift presents itself as a silent, almost immaterial presence, respectful of the space’s historical protagonism.

The original structure and decorative ceilings were carefully restored. Existing windows were replaced with new timber frames, ensuring historical coherence alongside high thermal and acoustic performance.

The flooring, a unifying element of the project, consists of a wide and noble timber floor, marked by a diamond-pattern stereotomy subtly inspired by Lisbon’s secular churches. This gesture introduces cadence and timelessness, evoking memory in a serene and restrained manner.

White walls and Estremoz marble further enhance the luminosity of the interiors, lending calm and clarity to the domestic experience.

In the entrance hall, handcrafted tiles specially designed for the site by artist Maria Ana Vasco Costa establish a subtle dialogue between art and architecture, transforming the threshold into a luminous antechamber that announces the building’s character.

The master suites of the apartments on the left-hand side (floors 2 to 5) incorporate free-standing volumes housing the bathrooms, freeing the perimeter walls and allowing for a more fluid and contemporary reading of space. These autonomous volumes introduce a contemporary layer that discreetly dialogues with the building’s historical matrix.

The extension made it possible to create two duplex apartments, taking advantage of the roof void. Skylights and dormers, rhythmically positioned, allow changing shafts of light to enter, animating the interiors throughout the day in a subtle choreography of shadow and brightness.

In one of the duplexes, the living area gains a double-height space and a bespoke mezzanine, enhancing verticality and reinforcing the spatial breathing of the interior.

Despite the limited size of the east-facing courtyard, the overall strategy of openings sought to maximise natural light, ensuring a balanced diffusion throughout the building.

Above all, this project represents a gesture of respect: respect for the building, its history, its resilience and its accumulated silence. The rehabilitation restores clarity and authenticity through a contemporary language that does not impose itself, but instead engages with the past in an integral and conscious dialogue: an architecture that rediscovers its essence.

It is in this pursuit of constructive truth, of light, material and proportion that our practice is recognised: an architecture that seeks to rediscover its essence.

Project team: Rúben Mateus, Diogo Romão, Nuno Sequeira, Giulia Giust, Rita Cardoso Lemos, Pedro Vieira, Paulo Jorge Dias, Élvio Gomes Pereira, João Carlos Fonseca, Ricardo Carvalho, Carolina Silva, Maria Sousa Otto, Ozora Kuzayama, Maria Reis, Francisco Barosa, Susana Luís, Samanta Cardoso de Menezes, Mariana Santos, Arianna Camozzi, Beatriz Fróis, Francisco Duarte, Constança Lino, João Morais, André Silva, Esteban Carbajo, Carla Genty, Renata Vieira

Photography: FRANCISCO NOGUEIRA