Gorgeous Architecture

I've decided to post another photo blog, this time with pictures that I've taken of some of the many marvelous buildings in Cascais, Estoril, Sintra and Lisboa. However, before I start I want to make it absolutely clear that I am not in any way an architect or a historian, but merely a person that thinks that these buildings are nice to look at and impressive in their construction. Please forgive me if I get anything wrong!

Many Portuguese buildings seem to have a feeling about them that someone, somewhere put a great deal of effort into making sure that it looked nice. Admittedly, there are buildings that are more mundane in their design, offering more towards functionality where needed, such as offices and warehouses, but clearly, you don't want me to fill my blog with pictures of boring square glass-walled office blocks. That said, there is one building exactly fitting this description in Cascais, and I might, if I pass it, take a photo of it for you, purely for curiosity and a brief but intense 70's nostalgia moment. But that's another blog. These pictures show a more thoughtful perspective. Sometimes traditional, sometimes modern, but always aesthetically pleasing. I'm not entirely sure if it's the archways, or tiled walls, or perhaps the balconies that give the architecture that quintessential Mediterranean feel that you can't help but love. However, deep down inside I feel that I already know the answer. It's when all these features come together to form an aesthetic asymmetrical combination equal to a lot more than the sum of its parts. The following pictures exemplify exactly what i mean.

To start with, look at how many different styles of arch there are on the building pictured below. Also, around the top of the building, just below the roof line, you can see an intricate painted tile feature and just beneath that there is a moulded (or possibly sculpted) detail running around the circumference of the building, mirroring the arches over the larger windows. The roof itself is tiled in a criss-cross diamond pattern with angled sections that meet with the apexes at different heights. It seems that wherever you look on this building there is another level of detail. Bay windows, balconies, balustrades, arches within arches. Simply beautiful.

Many of the houses along the promenade that runs between Estoril and Cascais have circular or octagonal towers topped with pointy spires, giving impressions of the kind of castle one would expect to see in the opening credits of a certain brand of children's film. And again, this asymmetry only seems to add to the overall character of the buildings.

These next few houses don't have the spires, but the balconies and pointed arches over the windows compliment completely the stone edging to the colour washed walls.

The following building is not a house as such, but a museum, namely the Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães, situated in the Parque Marechal Carmona in Cascais. I believe it was once a house, and a rather splendid one at that, complete with it's own fountain equipped courtyard. Again the yellow wash and stone detail work together to impress.

Not all the buildings are completely asymmetrical though. In the following three examples you can see that rooftop windows and painted tile features for example are repeated giving a far more regular and rectangular feel to the buildings.

I've often wondered why the words "Monte" and "Estoril" on the train station wall were not neatly in line. It's almost as if there was a third word that has since been erased?

Isn't the painted tile work on this Sintra house just fantastic? (Wiki - Azulejo)

Not an archway in sight in these modern houses near the Casino in Estoril, and yet the balconies still give them a very solid southern European quality.

This water fountain in Sintra features some excellent arches inside arches coupled with some fantastic tile work and stone masonry. Tiles are a big feature in many Portuguese houses, especially it seems, in the city.

Tiled walls on apartment blocks seem to go hand in hand with urban living in Lisbon. This isn't exactly the loveliest building now, but I'm sure that when all those tiles were fresh and new it was an incredibly impressive sight to behold.

Continuing with the "City" theme, here are a variety of photo's of Lisboa, starting off with the monuments at the top of the park of Eduardo VII, and following on into a brief "guided tour" of Lisboa.

A view down a street near Lisboa's Cathedral, Sé. The cathedral is a wonderful building too. Maybe one day I'll do a blog on it.

Isn't there a building like this in Dubai?

One of the fountains in Rossio. Up to the left you can see the very top of the Elevador de Santa Justa which takes you up to the Carmo Convent, which thanks to my wonderful photographic skills, is deftly obscured by the fountain.

The archway in the Praça Do Comércio‎. Through the archway is a street teaming with restaurants and leads you directly up to Rossio. This part of Lisbon, Baixa, was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755 and rebuilt under the strict directions of the then Prime Minister, Sebastião de Melo, Marquès de Pombal, and the style is now referred to as Pombaline in his honour.  Following on from Rossio, you can follow the Avenida da Liberdade right the way up to the Marquès de Pombal roundabout which features an enormous statue of the aforementioned Marquis.

Typical houses in the district near the Castle of São Jorge, complete with white-washed walls, stone window frames and plant pots.

Office buildings and apartments in Cais de Sodre, Lisboa. All done out with pink and yellow wash.

Finally, a very modern building in Lisboa. This photo really doesn't do it justice, but the design gives the impression that the building is splitting into three, with the two outside sections falling away. The building is in the very modern area of Lisboa, near the "Park of Nations" where the ESPO was held a few years back, and therefore understandably modern. It could almost be London...

Phew. Some fantastic buildings though eh?