Castle of São Jorge’s Archaeological Site

On an intramural promontory, Praça Nova do Castelo stands out as a place of unique beauty, with a field of view that extends beyond the castle walls down to the city’s estuary. The first action of this intervention on the Castle of São Jorge was the clear definition of the archaeological site, by means of a corten steel membrane. Focusing on the themes of protection, discovery and readability, the intervention establishes the perimeter formerly occupied by Islamic constructions of the 9th century, while emphasizing the perception of panoramic view of the square. The reconstitution of the volumetry and spatiality of Islamic houses happened based on conjectures by architects and historians, in an openly abstract and scenic solution, in which the white walls enact the former domestic spatiality of two dwellings, that are identifiable by traces of their walls. Protecting what is left of these domestic structures and their frescos was regarded as an opportunity to reproduce its spatial experience. A series of independent compartments are distinguishable, organized around a central patio that allows light and ventilation into the protected dwelling by means of a translucent roof that filters the sunlight. The project, whom landscape architect João Gomes da Silva is co-author of, was distinguished in 2010 with the Piranesi Prix de Rome, acknowledging the clarity and quality with which the intervention connects architecture and archaeology, volumetry and landscape.