Conde Barão Garage

Currently home to the offices of the WPP Group, the world’s largest advertising and communication group, this garage was originally conceived as an automobile workshop. The stylish building on Avenida 24 de Julho was built in 1955 and was equipped with petrol pumps, a service station, repair workshops for cars, ship engines, agricultural machinery, and a car part depository for a number of car makes. The abandoned garage was converted by Ana Costa, who went to great lengths to preserve and recover the main elements that were typical for the architecture and construction of the period. So as to make maximum use of the building’s location, a new floor was added containing various social spaces, a covered outdoor space, a glassed interior space, a pond and a large open terrace that affords views in all directions. The recessed main entrance on Avenida 24 de Julho made it possible to float the upper volume and add lightness to the whole building.