We travel because we need to, because distance and difference are the secret tonic to creativity. When we get home, home is still the same, but something in our minds has changed, and that changes everything.
Santa Clara 1728 by Aires Mateus
The Santa Clara project envisioned the renovation of a building in Lisbon. A building with undefined history, with different construction periods and transformations, as it is common in historically rich areas.
The goal was to construct a building that reflects the living experience of the city. A search, not done by the reproduction of traditional elements, but by a recombination of elements, materials, atmospheres and proportions, to bring back this idea of living. A plain architecture, that combines few elements, while striving for quality in the use of real materials. An idea of authenticity and, therefore, an idea of timelessness.