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Alfragide Towers

Coordinates: 38°43′59.1708″N 9°13′4.71″W / 38.733103000°N 9.2179750°W / 38.733103000; -9.2179750
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Alfragide Towers
East tower. The stone building in the foreground is part of the Águas Livres Aqueduct
Map
General information
TypeResidential flats
Architectural styleBrutalism
LocationAmadora, Portugal
Coordinates38°43′59.1708″N 9°13′4.71″W / 38.733103000°N 9.2179750°W / 38.733103000; -9.2179750
Construction started1968
Completed1974
Technical details
MaterialReinforced concrete
Design and construction
Architect(s)Conceição Silva and Tomás Taveira

The Alfragide Towers (Portuguese: Torres de Alfragide) are a set of residential buildings in Alfragide, Amadora, Portugal. The complex consists of three residential towers and a shopping centre at ground level, connecting the three buildings. It also contains an underground car park and a complex of swimming pools, currently unused. It is an example of brutalism-influenced architecture.[1]

Buildings

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The three residential towers have different heights, ranging from 10 to 15 floors. Each tower's footprint is similar to a four-leaf clover, with a central services core featuring stairs, elevators and garbage chutes, and four "subtowers" stemming from the core. The apartments feature different layouts, including single-storey flats and two-storey maisonettes.

The two-storey shopping centre at ground level features shops, cafés, and offices. Until the late 1980s it also featured a cinema, currently closed.

Architecture

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Tomás Taveira was the main architect responsible for the project, while working at Conceição Silva's architectural practice.[2] He cites James Stirling as his main influence for this project, especially the University of Leicester's Engineering Building.[3] The project also shares similarities with Alison and Peter Smithson's Robin Hood Gardens estate and Denys Lasdun's Keeling House.[4]

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References

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  1. ^ Figueira, Jorge (2009). "A periferia perfeita : pós-Modernidade na arquitectura portugusa, anos 60 - anos 80" (in Portuguese). Universidade de Coimbra. Retrieved 12 July 2019. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ Fiúza, Filipa. "Um projecto inglês: a influência da arquitectura anglo-saxónica nas Torres de Alfragide". Repositório ISCTE-IUL (in Portuguese). Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  3. ^ Cardim, João; Fiúza, Filipa (2012). "The Alfragide Towers (1968-74) by Atelier Conceição Silva: A middle-class housing case study in Portugal". Symposium Middle-Class Housing in Perspective, Politecnico di Milano, 22-23 November 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  4. ^ Fiúza, Filipa. "Alfragide Towers: a British design". Jornal Arquitectos (242). Retrieved 11 July 2019.