Aveiro holds one of Portugal’s richest collections of Art Nouveau, a heritage that remains central to the city’s identity.
Initially criticised as excessive and functionally superfluous, Art Nouveau was swiftly replaced by Art Deco and the Modern Movement, then largely erased—physically and symbolically. Only in the late 20th century did it begin to be reappraised, in a recurring, if ambivalent, cultural pattern.
Cities are shaped by layers, revisitations, and superimpositions. Aveiro embodies this palimpsestic richness.
On the very street where he would later build his own home, architect Francisco Augusto Silva Rocha designed, in the early 20th century, a discreet yet dignified house. A round stone-framed window on the ground floor anchors the façade, floral motifs grace the upper openings, and a ceramic frieze with stone triglyphs crowns the elevation. A small gabled attic window with a sculpted female face completes the composition.
Typologically, the façade follows a common local pattern: two floors, three vertical bays, and a central attic window.
It is in direct dialogue with this building that the Sá Townhouse takes form.
Built on a vacant plot, the new house resumes the volume, materiality, and composition of its neighbour, echoing rhythms, proportions, and organisation. The volume steps subtly back from the street, asserting presence through restraint.
Material choices—limestone, ceramic tiles, timber, and ironwork—cite the pre-existing house while offering a contemporary interpretation. It also references Aveiro’s timber salt warehouse façades and the Ria’s traditional Palheiros.
A central skylight aligns with the entrance, casting diffuse light and uniting both floors.
Local materials—limestone, pine wood, ceramics—anchor the project in its context. In a fragmented urban landscape, Sá Townhouse stands as a reflection on continuity, memory, and belonging.
