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Lisbon: Vila Do Brito, a Building that Ought to Be Preserved

17 December 2017

The Lisbon City Council will evaluate, at the next public meeting of the executive, whether it should classify the Vila do Tijolo, in the parish of Estrela, as a Monument of Municipal Interest, considering the building as being “typologically paradigmatic.”

The proposal for the classification was signed by the councillors Catarina Vaz Pinto (Culture) and Manuel Salgado (Urbanism) and will be evaluated by the municipal council on Wednesday.

The “Brick Building”, as it was known, was erected by José Joaquim de Almeida Junça, in 1891-1892, to house workers for the Cerâmica Junça (Fábrica Progresso Artístico).

In the document, city councilpersons point out that the construction of this working village “was completed in 1893, being complementary to the Fonte Santa Factory, also known as Cerâmica Junca, located directly across the street, and built a short time before.

“Vila do Tijolo is a typologically paradigmatic building, with remarkable decorative work on its main façade, with access to the dwellings on the upper floors through galleries that run along the Tardoz façade,” the elected officials pointed out.

The abandonment of the city’s heritage…

The councilpersons point out that “the continued demolition, distortion or abandonment of properties that are significant to the city, especially those built from the end of the 19th century, which are usually less protected, threatens the existence of our heritage.”

The building under consideration has a “marked urban presence due to the considerable width of the property and its four floors, three of which face the Rua Possidónio da Silva. The building was initially comprised of 21 dwellings plus a ground floor occupied by industrial facilities that were complementary to the factory.

“The Vila do Tijolo is an outstanding example of a housing block directly linked to industrial production, not only for its asset value, but also for its symbolic value as a workers’ village, and currently has no special classification or protection,” the proposal points out.

At the meeting, the councillors will also consider a proposal signed by Manuel Salgado, aimed at the “extension of the Preventive Measures, for a period of one year, in an area adjacent to the National Museum of Ancient Art because of the elaboration of the Urban Rehabilitation Detail Plan of the Janelas Verdes [Hotel].”

Original Story: Diário Imobiliário

Translation: Richard Turner