São Paulo Library

In an unremarkable building on the outskirts of Lisbon, intended for the private use of a religious community, a library is conceived as an exceptional space: a place for study, research, work and meetings, comprising a reading room and a storage room.

The geometry of the ceiling brings order to the existing, undistinguished structure; colour invites silence and serenity, while the use of timber reinforces a sense of scale and warmth. An austere and rigorous spatiality was sought, in which the books define the surrounding and personalised atmosphere.