In Montijo, near Lisbon, Bak Gordon Arquitectos together with RM Arquitectura tackled with a delicate approach the difficult issue of adapting a historic building in order to improve its accessibility by inserting a lift.
The Municipal Gallery is a building nestled in the heart of the historic city and dates back to the 19th century. In order to prevent the existing layout from being compromised, the design solution was to locate the lift outside the historic building, placing it in a residual area turned into a small linear garden tangential to the structure and equipped with seating and vegetation: a tiny urban oasis among the buildings, hidden by fence walls along the street (interrupted by the emerging volume of the lift) and only partially visible from the outside through a grille that accentuates its aura of intimacy and mystery.
The secret garden of a Portuguese town hall
To make a historic municipal building accessible, Bak Gordon and RM Arquitectura created an intimate and mysterious public space, protected by the warm tones of plastered walls and vegetation.
Photo Francisco Nogueira
Photo Francisco Nogueira
Photo Francisco Nogueira
Photo Francisco Nogueira
Photo Francisco Nogueira
Photo Francisco Nogueira
Photo Francisco Nogueira
Photo Francisco Nogueira
Photo Francisco Nogueira
Photo Francisco Nogueira
site plan
ground floor
first floor
roof floor
cross section
longitudinal section
main facade
side facade
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- Chiara Testoni
- 04 February 2025
- Montijo, Portugal
- Bak Gordon Arquitectos + RM Arquitectura
- 80 sqm
- public space
- 2024
Inside, the warm tones of the floors, seating and walls plastered with slightly sandy cement mortar, on which vegetation stands out, create spatial cohesion and give the environment a serene and pacifying atmosphere.
- Daniela Cunha
- Marianna Angelucci, Pietro Dardano
- Municipalità di Montijo
- Valeng (structures and foundations), Vertente Rabisco (plumbing), CPX (electric systems), FC-AP (Landscape Architecture)