Fernanda Fragateiro Studio

This complex was built with four independent spaces for artistic work. Its spatial, formal and luminous qualities are disclosed in the solution chosen for the Lisbon City Council’s commission to set up sculpture studios with an 8 metre ceiling height, near an 18th century palace—Palácio do Contador-Mor—integrated in the Olivais Sul Plan. The excavation of the land allowed for the burying of the building’s volume, the reduction of the façade height, and the creation of working and circulation areas inside it, distinct but converging towards the central space. On the ceiling, the exposed concrete, laminated and juxtaposed with hollow blocks of the same material, contrasts with the delicacy of the steel window frames and the comfortable proportions of the entire space. The north-facing openings capture the low light of winter directly and diffuse the high light of summer. The current entrance was designed as a protruding feature, for loading and unloading. The original entrance is today a green, arboreal and exterior confinement.