Brutalist & Modernist Architecture in Lisbon, Portugal

Xiao Yang

Jul 16, 2021

Last month I had a trip to Lisbon, Portugal. Below are some brutalist / Modernist architectures I visited during the trip.

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Panorâmico de Monsanto

Location: 38.728587, -9.184479

Year: 1968

Architect: Chaves Costa

“Graffitied, abandoned high-end restaurant that's now a popular spot for panoramic views over Lisbon. Lisbon’s beloved secret viewpoint is a graffiti- and art-plastered building that was once an exclusive high-society restaurant in the late 1960s. A series of bad investment decisions led to its abandonment from 2001 – although, considering the graffiti covering the walls top to bottom, it wasn’t left unvisited. It's now reopened and wandering its winding halls and staircases feels like exploring a ghost town.”

- Info via LonelyPlanet

Panorâmico de Monsanto, Lisbon, Portugal

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Palacio de Justicia de Lisboa

Lisbon Palace of Justice

Location: 38.731947, -9.157521

Year: 1962-1970

Architect: Januário Gadinho，João Andresen

Palacio de Justicia de Lisboa, Lisbon Palace of Justice. Lisbon, Portugal.

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Church Sagrado Coração

Location: 38.724786, -9.147176

Year: 1961-1970

Architect: Nuno Teotonio Pereira, Nuno Portas

“ It can be difficult to identify this massive building as a church when passing due to its unusual architecture. The church was designed by architects Nuno Portas and Nuno Teotónio Pereira between 1962 and 1970. When inside, the designs make visitors feel as though they are getting closer to the spiritual essence of existence. The interior is filled with clear-cut lines, bold concrete, soft light, and lots of open space. The church is definitely worth visiting twice, once during the day, and again after sunset to enjoy the interior amid different lightning.”

- Info via AtlasObscura

Church Sagrado Coração. Lisbon, Portugal.

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Edificio Franjinhas

Location: 38.722949, -9.151273

Year: 1966-1969

Architect: Nuno Teotónio Pereira，João Braula Reis

“ Built in Lisbon between 1966 and 1969, the Franjinhas building, located on the corner between number 9 of Rua Braancamp and Rua Castilho, draws the attention of passers-by for its scalloped façade and the rudimentary finish.

Designed by Nuno Teotónio Pereira and João Braula Reis, Franjinhas as it is known is characterized by its relationship between the interior and the exterior, which are translated differently in the two overlapping areas into which the building is divided and which are indicated by contrasting shape on its facade; relationships that result in an interposed space, with different purposes: the low floors seek to break the façade and maintain a fluid contact with the street; the high floors, giving thickness to the surroundings, in order to enhance the indoor-outdoor relationship.

Concrete is a prominent material in this building; used as a structural element and in its exterior walls, the suspended plates on the façade are also in concrete (reinforced), prefabricated at the construction site.

In its conception, an attempt was made to make the street pass through the built space, taking it to negative floors, this through a set of stairs and galleries, taking advantage of the corner situation, resulting in three floors of establishments. A solution with open and varied spaces, which profitably takes advantage of the proximity of the low floors to the street for the animation and enhancement of the public road. The paintings and/or sculptures on certain surfaces, aim to enhance and environmentalize naturally disadvantaged areas.”

- Info via wiki

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Church Nossa Senhora da Conceição

Church of Our Lady of the Conception

Location: 38.76468, -9.12121

Year: 1970–1988

Architect: Pedro Vieira de Almeida

Church Nossa Senhora da Conceição, Church of Our Lady of the Conception. Lisbon, Portugal.

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Lisbon Residential Building

Location: 38.745899, -9.185454

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Barrio Portugal Novo

Location: 38.74087, -9.1256

Year: 1974–1977

The Portugal Novo neighborhood is located between Areeiro and Olaias, one of the parishes with the most expensive square meter in the city of Lisbon. However, for more than 40 years, the area has been handed over to an anarchic regime, in which the occupied houses have no owner.

The inhabitants call it “Portugal Miserável” instead of “Portugal Novo”.

When we were wandering over there, a man stopped by and told us not to take pictures here due to security issues. This colorful utopia neighborhood is not as dreamy as I thought.