The Pastoral Center of Moscavide is composed by a set of facilities that include catechesis rooms, funeral chapels, and the parish residence.
The proximity and connection with a building that applied to become architectural heritage with national interest (the Church of Santo António of Moscavide), provided premises for dialogue and framing.
The two buildings stand out as landmarks of two periods that, although different, complement each other as reference points in the community.
Conceptually, the architects projected a simple volume in articulation with the somewhat monolithic adjacent church.
At the same time, the new building presents contemporary details, namely in the materials used such as: concrete, the white walls within the space volumetry, and the connection of the building with the surrounding natural light, which was always present throughout the project.
The differential use of in-house spaces due to their different valences dictated the programmatic display that progressed from public to more private spaces, leaving behind, in a more isolated and introspective environment, the access to the funeral chapels.
Across the Avenue of Moscavide you can access the main entrance of the building and the parish residence, while crossing the whole center, in close connection.
The great central skylight that unifies all the space shines onto the interior of the building a light that is high, strong, and constantly present.
In addition, the sunlight also shines onto the resurrection chapels, creating an analogy with the gospels, characterizing space and emboldening the moment.
The slender lamellae lining the entire facade dematerialize and soften its austere volume, providing a spiritual and incorporeal atmosphere, whereas in the interior, deliver a sensation of shelter and introspection while enjoying the view and light.
The final result is a simple, clean, elegant, authentic and almost rude building in terms of materiality, which together with the volumetric work of the spaces, and the crosstalk between natural and artificial light, results in a graphic building that transports us to an ethereal, liturgical and iconographic atmosphere.
