Quinta dos Gagos

In Alpiarça, an estate of rural character is the subject of conservation works that seek to restore the aesthetic qualities time had worn away. The intervention, confined to a defined area of the ensemble, proceeds from a principle of repair: to work on what is already there without replacing it, leaving the more detailed recovery of the remaining buildings to a later stage.

The masonry, internal and external, is repaired with natural hydraulic lime and repainted in the existing colours. At the openings, the stonework is cleaned and the timber frames restored, always keeping the original colour. On the roofs, the timber trusses are treated and the single barrel-tile roof, in poor condition, gives way to Portuguese pantiles of the same colour. The walls are stripped back and repainted, and the damaged fencing is replaced with fencing of the same kind.

The gesture is discreet and faithful to what exists, favouring the material and chromatic continuity of the ensemble. The rural identity of the estate is preserved and the ground prepared for the next stages of its recovery.