Nossa Senhora da Estrela Monastery

Rehabilitation and Transformation, Lisbon

1st Prize, Open Competition

Built in 1572, the Monastery of Nossa Senhora da Estrela has been shaped by more than four centuries of successive transformations. First a college and later a hospital, the complex has continuously adapted to new uses while retaining the traces of its layered history.

The project transforms the former monastery into a residential complex of 100 housing units, using the existing structure as the framework for a new form of collective living. The intervention restores its most significant heritage elements, particularly the Baroque morphology resulting from the reconstruction that followed the 1755 earthquake.

New infrastructure, structural reinforcement and an underground car park are integrated within the conservation strategy, allowing the historic complex to meet contemporary requirements without erasing its architectural and material character.

The intervention extends beyond the buildings themselves. A direct connection to the new metro station and the integration of the former monastery enclosure into Jardim da Estrela reconnect the complex with the surrounding public realm, transforming a historically enclosed site into an active part of the city.