Primary School and Public Bathhouse of the Castle, Lisbon: a proposal of encounter and continuity

This paper affords a closer look at a building located in Lisbon’s historical city centre, the Primary School and Public Bathhouse near São Jorge’s Castle, designed by Bartolomeu Costa Cabral. The project was initiated in October 1959 and approved in 1963; having been a target of criticisms from official authorities, as we shall recount, it was finally inaugurated in 1972. Representing, at the time, an innovative pedagogical approach, it was intended to be perceived by children as an extension of their homes. It turns inwards to its patios to encourage students to be closer to nature and learn from it while promoting play and forming relations. Furthermore, six properly equipped and adaptable classrooms allow for multiple activities. For the maximum use of the plot area and to promote integration with its surroundings, the disposition of classrooms is fragmented and arranged along a north-south axis, freeing the surrounding streets and preserving sunlight conditions of neighbouring buildings. Rejecting any imitation, the external façades draw a clear limit between inside and outside. At a time when gatherings of more than three people were forbidden, and ‘heavy’ and ‘outdated’ official constructions were still being built, the architect sought to incorporate principles related to modern architecture, particularly those espoused by Alfred Roth, to create a school capable of responding to evolving teaching methods and resisting the passing of time, as well as promoting the ‘phenomenon of encounter’ that fosters a sense of community and belonging amongst children and residents. This paper focuses on Costa Cabral’s formative years to explore the context in which the architect developed his thinking and from which this project emerged. We then proceed to address the design process for this school based on an analysis of the documents in his archive. Finally, the importance of the influence on this project of works by Alfred Roth — whose studies centred particularly on English post-war schools — is revealed.