Art and Architecture

The building, whose construction initiated in 1565, is formed by a central block, rep- resented by the cloister, around which the main areas were organised. The cloister, designed by Diogo de Castilho, displays a vocabulary and decorative aesthetics simi- lar to others built in 16th-century Coimbra, with their vaults, columns and capitals. The chapter house used to be on the north side of the cloister, between the entrance hall and the former corridor to the first floor, and the library used to be on the first floor, on the west side.

The church, which has its main architectural structure still standing, is on the south side. It underwent adaptation works to house the pharmaceutical dispensary in the 19th century.

However, the 16th-century building is ennobled above all by the corpus of eighteenth-century structural and ornamental rococo work, namely the grand staircase on the north side, the several door and window recesses and the multiple panels of figurative narrative tiles.

Proposed Intervention

The new programme contemplates the housing of several of the University’s structures in more appropriate settings and the establishment of a hotel.

The proposal involves the demolition of the east block of the building (former Emergency Room), to unburden that façade, as well as the demolition of the block built over the courtyard situated between the grand staircase and the 18th century archways. The attic built over the cornice line of the former church and not in character with the edifice will be demolished, thus reestablishing the scale that this building must have had by the end of the 19th century. Likewise, the blocks enclosing the upper terrace on the north and east flanks will be dismantled to admit a reading of the cloister closer to the original one.

The plan includes the restoration of several areas on the ground and first floors, corresponding to the original structures of the College and the enlargement carried out in the 18th century.

Technical Document PDF