Salemas Church

In Salemas, in the municipality of Loures, a church is organised from its forecourt: the transitional space that precedes the entrance and serves also as a place of meeting, of gathering and of local celebration. The slight setback between the church and the lane that gives access to it opens this margin, marked to the north by a wall along which parking is arranged in line.

Arrival is by a gently ramped footpath, framed by lavender beds and by trees native to the place, such as the holm oak and the wild olive. The material of the ground distinguishes the uses: the forecourt receives a layer of rolled gravel, informal in character and discouraging to vehicle traffic, while the ramp is made in porous, free-draining micro-concrete, framed by bands of limestone kerb that also draw the planting beds and the tree pits.

To the west, an internal drive secures vehicle access to a courtyard on the south side, serving the ancillary facilities of the church, and stitches together the lane and the square that bound the site to north and south. To the east, the embankment between walls is planted for consolidation, closing the ensemble and returning the church to the continuity of the landscape.