Passos Manuel High School

Located in the historic core, between the Convent of Jesus and the Convent of Paulistas, the ensemble of the old Lyceo Passos Manuel, classified as a Monument of Public Interest, is the first example of the principles of high school education—established by Passos Manuel in 1836—to have been built in Portugal. In the Beaux-Arts style, this beautiful building goes through, between 2008 and 2010, an intervention that rehabilitates and adapts it to the new requirements of contemporary education, within the framework of the programme managed by Parque Escolar. The restoration, conservation and extension interventions had respect for the historical building, namely by partially hiding the new infrastructures underground. The intervention on the existing buildings was scarce, emphasizing their restoration and the reorganization of exterior areas. It is in this context that it was granted the 2013 Europa Nostra European Heritage Award by the European Union, in the Conservation category, and, in 2011, it is recognized by CELE-OECD as an exemplary intervention in school architectural heritage.