The renovated Cidadela de Cascais

Architects Byrne, Sinclair and Jag have finished the reconversion of a 400-year old military fortress into a hospitality structure, renovating existing infrastructure and inserting a low, suspended volume inside the compound.

Architects Gonçalo Byrne, David Sinclair and João Gois (Jag) have recently completed the renovation and reconversion of the Cidadela de Cascais, a 400-year old fortified structure in Cascais, Portugal, which will now be used as a hotel.

Cidadela de Cascais has historically been a fundamental element in the defense of the Lisbon vicinity. Over the last four hundred years, this fortified structure has suffered a number of alterations, and, derived from the end of its use as a military compound, some degree of degradation in its interior spaces.

The renovation project sought to respect the compound's former use as a military structure, adding value to the structure. As most military structures of the type, the Cidadela's spaces are all organized around a central square, surrounded by four buildings.

The architectural intervention consisted, on one hand, on a literal renovation of the existing constructions, adapting them to a hospitality use. On the other hand, the architects built a new, elongated volume inside the historical compound, using contemporary materials and building techniques. The new building, clad in Cor-Ten steel, occupies the space of the former military mess hall, a construction which had no historical value.
Byrne Arquitectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos, Cidadela de Cascais reconversion
Byrne Arquitectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos, Cidadela de Cascais reconversion
Gonçalo Byrne architectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos: Cidadela de Cascais reconversion
Lead architect: Gonçalo Byrne, arquitectos Lda.
Architecture: Gonçalo Byrne, Joao Góis and David Sinclair
Collaborators: Hugo Guerreiro, Paulo Street, Bernardo Bessa Monteiro, Bruno Marcelino, Joana Quintas, Tomás Bonifásio, Carla Vieira (GB Arquitectos) Simon Dillon, Tiago Rocha, Tânia Cortez Pinto, Gonçalo Duarte and David Carvalho (DSAA Arquitectos)
Landscape: Luisa Estadão, Gerald Luckhurst
Structures: Soares da Costa - Eng. Abel Almeida, Eng. Paulo Marinho
Electrical instalations: Soares da Costa - Eng Manuel Maçana
Hydraulic Instalations: Soares da Costa - Eng Manuel Resende
Mechanical Instalations: Soares da Costa - Eng Raul Bessa
Construction: Soares da Costa
Construction Responsible: Soares da Costa - Eng Ana Melo
Byrne Arquitectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos, Cidadela de Cascais reconversion
Byrne Arquitectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos, Cidadela de Cascais reconversion
Byrne Arquitectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos, Cidadela de Cascais reconversion
Byrne Arquitectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos, Cidadela de Cascais reconversion
Byrne Arquitectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos, Cidadela de Cascais reconversion
Byrne Arquitectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos, Cidadela de Cascais reconversion
Byrne Arquitectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos, Cidadela de Cascais reconversion
Byrne Arquitectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos, Cidadela de Cascais reconversion
Byrne Arquitectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos, Cidadela de Cascais reconversion
Byrne Arquitectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos, Cidadela de Cascais reconversion
Byrne Arquitectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos, Cidadela de Cascais reconversion
Byrne Arquitectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos, Cidadela de Cascais reconversion
Byrne Arquitectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos, Cidadela de Cascais reconversion
Byrne Arquitectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos, Cidadela de Cascais reconversion
Byrne Arquitectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos, Cidadela de Cascais reconversion
Byrne Arquitectos, David Sinclair architects, Jag arquitectos, Cidadela de Cascais reconversion

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