This is a chapel within a private residence, belonging to the members of the Missionary Institute of the Society of Saint Paul. Its commission is founded on principles that are not always aligned: it is the central space of a house composed of many houses; a place for prayer and communication; a space of intimacy and communion.
The chapel is located in Apelação, on the outskirts of Lisbon, within an estate comprising two four-storey buildings connected by a single-storey plinth, originally occupied by a warehouse. This area was chosen for the chapel because of its central position and its relationship with the spaces for living, working, welcoming and prayer. The chapel thus takes its place at the heart of the Institute, both physically and symbolically.
Austere and rigorous in design, the project reuses the existing structure while seeking a new meaning for the site, emphasising the simplicity of its forms, the quality of light and the authenticity of the proposed materials. The existing concrete structure is retained—imperfect and unfinished, yet capable of accommodating the place of worship—and reinterpreted within this new context. The resulting space is generous and unified, free from artifice and excess, becoming the backdrop for the liturgical elements that intensify and direct its sacred and theological meaning.
All of these elements were designed specifically for this space, imbued with symbolism and meaning. The iconography was likewise conceived in relation to the architecture, not as autonomous objects but literally executed onto the walls, reinforcing the sense of continuity and the profound relationship between the space and the principles of the religious community.
The outdoor space to the north is conceived as a duplication of the chapel’s volume. More than simply its garden, it is intended as an extension of the space of prayer, forming part of the whole through both its geometry and its materiality, introducing water and nature into the simplicity of the composition. Public access is provided from the south, marked by the timber entrance door and the presence of the bell.