Alcácer do Sal retirement home
The Lisbon-based architects Francisco and Manuel Aires Mateus have won the Brick Award in the category “Residential Building” with their Alcácer do Sal retirement home. They have designed a living space which is both functional and comfortable while fulfilling the needs of the community. “The aim of our design was to guarantee the residents a balanced relationship between living in a community of elderly people in need of care and the respectful protection of their privacy”, the architects explained. The design foresaw, for instance, interior rooms whose final use can be determined by the users themselves. Jury member Rudolf Finsterwalder: “Architecture is understood as a sculpture and thus stands in the tradition of the two Portuguese grand masters Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura. The thermally insulated cavity wall has been rendered on the outside and finished with a coat of white glossy paint, which lends the building style and excitement.”
