Alfragide Towers
| Alfragide Towers | |
|---|---|
 East tower. The stone building in the foreground is part of the Águas Livres Aqueduct | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Residential flats |
| Architectural style | Brutalism |
| Location | Amadora, Portugal |
| Coordinates | 38°43′59.1708″N 9°13′4.71″W / 38.733103000°N 9.2179750°W |
| Construction started | 1968 |
| Completed | 1974 |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Reinforced concrete |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Conceição Silva and Tomás Taveira |
The Alfragide Towers (Portuguese: Torres de Alfragide) are a set of residential buildings in Alfragide, Amadora, Portugal. The complex consists of three residential towers and a shopping centre at ground level, connecting the three buildings. It also contains an underground car park and a complex of swimming pools, currently unused. It is an example of brutalism-influenced architecture.[1]
Buildings[edit]
The three residential towers have different heights, ranging from 10 to 15 floors. Each tower's footprint is similar to a four-leaf clover, with a central services core featuring stairs, elevators and garbage chutes, and four "subtowers" stemming from the core. The apartments feature different layouts, including single-storey flats and two-storey maisonettes.
The two-storey shopping centre at ground level features shops, cafés, and offices. Until the late 1980s it also featured a cinema, currently closed.
Architecture[edit]
Tomás Taveira was the main architect responsible for the project, while working at Conceição Silva's architectural practice.[2] He cites James Stirling as his main influence for this project, especially the University of Leicester's Engineering Building.[3] The project also shares similarities with Alison and Peter Smithson's Robin Hood Gardens estate and Denys Lasdun's Keeling House.[4]
Gallery[edit]
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North tower. The entrance to the shopping centre is visible on the lower right corner -
Sculpture at ground level -
Balconies, detail -
South tower, as seen from the north -
North tower, detail -
East tower as seen from street level
References[edit]
- ^ Figueira, Jorge (2009). "A periferia perfeita : pós-Modernidade na arquitectura portugusa, anos 60 - anos 80" (in Portuguese). Universidade de Coimbra. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Fiúza, Filipa. "Um projecto inglês: a influência da arquitectura anglo-saxónica nas Torres de Alfragide". Repositório ISCTE-IUL (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ Cardim, João; Fiúza, Filipa (2012). "The Alfragide Towers (1968-74) by Atelier Conceição Silva: A middle-class housing case study in Portugal". Symposium Middle-Class Housing in Perspective, Politecnico di Milano, 22-23 November 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- ^ Fiúza, Filipa. "Alfragide Towers: a British design". Jornal Arquitectos (242). Retrieved 11 July 2019.
