São Domingos Dominican Convent

The urban environment of this building complex has undergone radical changes since the date of the project. The scarcity of urban references and the construction of the flyover which now exists determined the autonomy of the project and the different stages of construction. First, the residential area was built, and later the church. The cultural centre that will give a new front to the existing complex is yet to be built. The whole space is drawn following the dimensions and expressions of the human body, as well as the Dominican symbology and the use as residence and temple. It allows us to hear the echo in the vaulted space of the entrance, see the zenith light covering the altar and find the tabernacle, on the eastern side of the church, from the cloister, the entrance and the common rooms. It is a project of modern influence—reminiscent of spaces in the Convent of La Tourette—and delicate constructive detail, blatant in the choice and design of naked concrete, copper panels, solid wood and steelwork.