Restructuring the Alcáçova and Reinventing Water in the Hill of Castelo de São Jorge

Castelo de São Jorge and Alfama are at the root of Lisbon. The city’s deepest essence lies here, forming the foundation of its development over centuries. In recent times, a serious erosion of this place’s identity is apparent. This project aims to study and intervene in the area, focusing on two defining elements of an increasingly fading urban character: the defensive system and the water system. The former relates to elements and spaces associated with the city walls, while the latter explores the role of water - past and present - and the evolving relationships built with it over time.

“But now, talking about the time of my places, I think I’m trying to achieve something that I would call ‘emotional reconstruction’, by which I mean the formal and material qualities my buildings should have when they speak about the time of their place.” – Peter Zumthor, in A Feeling of History. Resulting from an in-depth study of two defining systems which characterise the site, the project emerges as an organism that brings together space, history, culture, and society. Addressing the defensive system, its core, the Alcáçova, is restructured so that once again, it can be clearly read as an enclosed element embracing the hilltop. The section of the wall which has become obscured, together with its single missing tower, are restored and rebuilt. The circulation and entrances to and around the Alcáçova are also reconsidered and reopened. In relation to the water, a system is (re)invented that uses the existing cistern in a house in Largo de Santa Cruz do Castelo and the cistern designed for the interior of the reconstructed Alcáçova tower as the basis for water collection and storage. Together, these elements supply a water system that enhances the public spaces, existing or projected, creates storage for watering gardens, and stimulates uses that emerge from historical and cultural reinterpretations. This system punctuates, sews together, and enhances its urban surroundings using ancestral and, curiously, highly sustainable methods. The project centers on the Pátio de Dom Fradique, which is immediately adjacent to the Alcáçova wall, and is crucial to the articulation of many of the city's most important areas, such as Castelo and Alfama. The project proposes a close focus on this place and the reinterpretation of uses inherent and essential to its identity.