Barbas Lopes Arquitectos

our work is firstly rooted in the context of our country: small, yet boundless. facing the atlantic ocean, portugal has an architectural tradition of great richness. over the last decades, its history has been reinvented by names like eduardo souto de moura, and álvaro siza. to use an expression of the latter, architecture remains for us a poetic profession. in order to make concrete this cultural commitment, ideas have to be pragmatic. projects and buildings must express this need, to improve reality. their economy of means also relates to another local concept, of plain architecture. the ability to do more with less is its greatest asset, especially when resources are scarce. since 2006, we have completed several projects under these guidelines. this site presents some of the most significant. recently concluded, thalia theatre in lisbon is a culmination of this process. it asserts the presence of the past, salvaging the remains of a playhouse from the nineteenth century. these ruin