Architectural Design: The Best Architecture Projects ♦ Portugal is filled with amazing architectural pieces that will dazzle any design and architecture lover. Here you can take a trip back in time, starting in the Roman period and ending with contemporary buildings. Let yourself be swept away by the lingering beauty of Portuguese buildings, and keep reading Secrets From Portugal choices of the best architecture projects in Portugal.

 

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Porto de Leixões

 

 

The ‘Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões’, is a small port complex that was born out of an initiative of the Douro and Leixões Ports Administration (in Matosinhos), and designed by the Portuguese architect Luís Pedro Silva. The project honours Portuguese tiles, and it is coated by one million three-dimensional Portuguese ceramic tiles. These glazed tiles achieve a chromatic variety through the way the sunlight strikes the hexagonal pieces, which changes throughout the day and the seasons.

Address: Rua do Godinho, Portaria junto do monumento Senhor do Padrão, 4450-208 Matosinhos

Website: www.apdl.pt/terminal-passageiros-sul

 

Clérigos Tower

 

 

Designed by Nicolau Nasoni, the ‘Clérigos Tower’ is a Baroque building located in Porto. The tower is the highest ones in Portugal, with a staggering 76 meters. This is also one of the most emblematic monuments in the city and, from which you can enjoy an incredible panoramic view of Porto. But “everything has a price”, and that definitely applies here; as the price to pay when you visit the top of this building is having to go through its 225 steps. Along the staircase, there will be 49 bells which, together, form a beautiful melody.

 

Address: Rua de São Filipe de Nery, 4050-546 Porto

Website: www.torredosclerigos.pt/pt/

 

Pedro and Inês Footbridge

 

 

Over the Mondego river, in what is known as the ‘Land of Students’, a bridge of unique architectural features joins the two sides of the city’s banks. The project was designed by the engineer António Adão da Fonseca and is located between the bridges of ‘Santa Clara’ and ‘Queen Santa Isabel’, which also adorn the city. However, the bridge that features the love story between Pedro and Inês is the one that stands out, due to its metallic arches; the biggest one, featuring a staggering 110 meters. The four-colour laminated glass – yellow, blue, green and pink – give it a “revolutionary and iconic” detail, as it has previously been said by both The Guardian and The Independent. This bridge – which can only be crossed by foot or bicycle – is not only changing Coimbra’s relationship with the river Mondego but also revolutionising the Portuguese architecture.

Morada | Address: Ponte. Pedro e Inês, Coimbra

 

The Centre of Visual Arts

 

 

The ‘Centro de Artes Visuais’ (CAV), was inaugurated on February 14th (2003), and is set on the College of Arts; a historic building located in the centre of the city of Coimbra and designed by the Portuguese architect João Mendes Ribeiro. ‘CAV’ showcases exhibitions and other projects related to photography or moving image, such as film and video. CAV also presents other ways of expressing contemporary art such as painting, sculpture, drawing, as well as other domains of contemporary creation like cinema, music, and design. ‘CAV’s’ program is based on individual and collective exhibitions focused on photography and video, and featuring renowned artists from the international contemporary art scene, as well as the Portuguese one.

Address: Pátio Inquisição 6, 3000-221 Coimbra

Website: http://cav-ef.net/

 

Franjinhas Building

 

 

Between 1969 and 1971, the architects Nuno Teotónio Pereira and João Braula Reis worked together to bring new life to Lisbon, with a unique building located on the intersection between the Braamcamp and Castilho Streets. The bold lines of this office building – which also includes commercial galleries on the lower floors – shocked the public in the late 1990s. The name of the building, “Franjinhas”, is a reference to the solution found by the architects for the window’s solar protection. In 1971, the project also won the ‘Valmor’ Prize and was also classified as a ‘Monument of Public Interest’.

 

Address: Rua Braamcamp, 9. Lisboa

 

Champalimaud Foundation

 

 

The ‘Champalimaud Foundation’ is dedicated to the development of advanced biomedical research programs, but architecture is also part of its life. Charles Correa, the architect responsible for giving life to this scientific centre, wanted the contemporary architecture characteristic of this building to be a fusion of aesthetics and functionality. The logic behind this approach is to guarantee all the necessary resources for researchers, academics and health professionals – both national or foreign – so that they can develop work at the highest standard.

 

Address: Avenida Brasília, 1400-038 Lisboa Website:https://m.fchampalimaud.org/en/champalimaud-research/

 

Chapel of Bones

 

 

Covered in bones, the walls of the ‘Chapel of Bones’, act as a metaphor for the fragility of human life. – “The bones lying here are waiting for yours” – is the message that welcomes those who enter the chapel. The idea, may be considered macabre by many, but the idea behind it is quite simple – back in the 17th-century, Franciscan friars wanted to showcase the fragility of the human condition hence the use of bones to decorate the chapel.

Morada | Address: Praça 1º de Maio 4, 7000-650 Évora

Website: www.visitevora.net/capela-ossos-evora/

 

Forte de Nossa Senhora da Rocha

 

 

Also known as the ‘Porches Castle’ due to its location, the ‘Forte de Nossa Senhora da Rocha’ dates back to the Middle Ages and it was once used to protect the village of Porches against the Moors. ‘Forte Nossa Senhora da Rocha’ was rebuilt in the 19th-century due to damage caused by sea erosion. Last but not least, the ‘Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Rocha’ is also located here. Make sure to enjoy the views over the Atlantic Ocean as this is a big highlight here.

 

Address: Praia da Sra. da Rocha, Porches

 

Horta’s Marina

 

 

Founded in 1986, ‘Horta’s Marina’, in the Azores, is one of the busiest in the world. Therefore, its traditions are well known all over the world – adventurous sailors must paint their boat symbol or logo on the marina’s walls. According to the legend, this assures the boat arrives safely to its destination. This tradition makes Horta’s Marina seem like an open-air art gallery to those who visit it.

 

Address: Cais de Santa Cruz, 9900-017 Horta

 

Graciosa Island Bullfighting Ring

 

 

The ‘Graciosa Island Bullfighting Ring’ is unique in the world not only due to its architecture but mainly because it’s been built directly in the caldera of a volcano. The is volcano inactive and is known as ‘Monte da Nossa Senhora da Ajuda’. If you are wondering why the volcano is used as a bullfighting arena, the reason is quite simple – its natural shape is perfect for it.

 

Address: Santa Cruz da Graciosa

 

 

 

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