Goa Square

Category: Nature > Park

District: Lisboa > Lisboa > Lisboa > Restelo

Location

Situated in the residential area of Restelo, in Lisbon, Praça de Goa occupies an elevated point on the slope extending from Belém. Surrounded by family homes, this quadrangular square frames a building that stands out for its architecture and history within the city's urban context.

A Mark of Modern Architecture

The main building of Praça de Goa, formerly a primary school complex, is a notable example of Portuguese architecture from the mid-20th century. Designed by architect Carlos Rebelo de Andrade between 1954 and 1959, it is integrated into the ambitious Plano dos Centenários (Centenaries Plan), a vast national program for school construction. This work marked a decisive turning point for modern architecture in Lisbon, abandoning more monumental and regionalist styles in favor of a more humanized and functional approach, specifically designed for the children's environment and with attention to solar orientation.

Artistic Ceramic Details

Inside this space, there is a valuable artistic ceramic collection by the ceramist Jorge Barradas (1894-1971). On the staircases, two polychrome faience panels depicting educational scenes stand out: a girl teaching another to read and a boy teaching sums. On the walls of the refectories, figurative and polychrome tiled coverings can be appreciated, showing children playing, separated by figures of trees, over a checkered dado. These elements reflect a renewed interest in Portuguese techniques and materials, adapted here to a children's imaginary.

Architectural Design

The construction features a complex plan, resulting from the union of two rectangular and parallel two-story blocks, linked by single-story modules. A peculiarity is the crescent-shaped body that curves towards Praça de Goa, towards which the main facade is oriented. The flat roofs and white-plastered facades, with large rectilinear windows and metal framing, are distinctive elements. The presence of horizontal movable louvers and exposed brick buttresses gives an interesting visual rhythm to the structure, while materials such as reinforced concrete, brick masonry, and limestone masonry reveal its robustness and quality of construction.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt