An extensive archaeological intervention recently took place, which revealed the building’s successive phases of occupation. At the same time, the execution of the project of adaptation of the college complex to the European University Judicial Court and other services of the Law School is taking place, under the supervision of the architecture studio Aires Mateus.
Description of the project by Aires Mateus
The project starts with the consideration of heritage and historical values. We differentiate between the "eternal" value of the project´s masses: the compression of the great walls and domes, and the "ephemeral" character of the old structures: constructive systems traditionally made of wood. The project was developed following this understanding of passing time, preserving the value of the "eternal" and proposing a new "ephemeral". A structure made of steel, separate and flooded with light, suggests a new contemporaneity.
