The Franjinhas Building

Marking a golden age in the construction of office buildings in Lisbon, this construction answers the needs arisen from economic growth, but also the needs of a growing periphery within a new context of urban planning in the city. Built by Nuno Franco de Oliveira Falcão, between 1969 and 1971, it highlights an experimental side of architecture in its quest for the exploration of concrete’s expressive capabilities. The architectonic language stands out in the dialogue between interior and exterior spatialities, emphasized by the pre-fabricated flaps that protect the windows and are taken as such a characteristic element of this office building. An experiment of a new relationship between the street and the commercial areas, the façade reflects its interior occupancy: by means of galleries, the base articulates two floors of stores and, in six office floors, the rest of the building is developed, crowned by the restaurant and administrative areas at the top. Remarkable architecture of the Modern Movement, it establishes new relationships of communication with the street, using rational methods and contemporary materialities. Franjinhas (fringes), as a work of reference and innovation in the original urban system of Avenidas Novas, was granted the Valmor Prize in 1971 and is classified as a Monument of Public Interest.