Architecture in Portugal. Straddling the centuries

One of the many things to catch the eye when visiting the Pestana Douro Riverside is a brick chimney that towers above the roofs. A legacy of what was once a CUF soap factory, it’s one of the elements of the original building that has been retained by architect David Sinclair, adding an interesting quirkiness to this recently opened Porto hotel (April 2022), which boasts 165 rooms and suites. Another recent project is the Pestana Lisboa Vintage, which was inaugurated in March of the same year. The hotel building itself dates back to the late art deco period and features 108 rooms and interiors by the architect Jaime Morais. The Douro Riverside is a prime example of the Group’s efforts to comply with contemporary refurbishment requirements, while maintaining the memory and spirit of each place. An essential part of achieving this involves working with renowned architects, whose vision adds another layer to the history of the buildings.

Rehabilitate and modernize: where past and present meet.

It is said that Crato’s Flor da Rosa monastery was built in three phases – two of them in the Middle Ages and a third in the 15th or 16th century. However, looking at the rechristened Pousada Mosteiro Crato now, it’s impossible not to add another stage: the late-20th-century intervention by architect Carrilho da Graça, who renovated part of the outbuildings and added a new wing that housed 13 of the pousada’s 24 rooms. This extraordinary combination of different eras and styles was also given added diversity when the spa opened in 2016.

Pousadas de Portugal can only operate in buildings that have the appropriate heritage classification or represent a particular architectural style, which is why renovation processes are so important in defining not only their future, but their essence. Adding new fixtures that complement the original features is a challenge worthy of the finest professionals, such as Gonçalo Byrne at Palácio Estoi Pousada, in Faro, and at the Pestana Cidadela Cascais (with David Sinclair) – to name but a few.

Projects rarely follow the most obvious paths. A good example of this occurred in the 1990s, when the architect Eduardo Souto Moura was explaining the reconversion of the Convent of Santa Maria do Bouro, a 12th-century Cistercian monastery (and previously inhabited by hermits). He said that the ruins were more important as building material than “the convent” itself. The 2011 Pritzker Prize winner emphasised that the focus was not on consolidation, but rather on injecting new materials, uses, forms and functions. Picturesque things may occur but not by forcing the issue.