MODERNE HEATER

The floor heater at Casa de Serralves, in Porto, is a piece of sculpture in polished brass erupting out of the marble floor. You can almost believe it could actually move up and down, complete with the top floor piece still attached. As always, perfect design and execution in Porto's greatest gesamtkunstverk, with the Ruhlmann interiors beautifully complementing Marques da Silva's architecture. Pity it didn't last like that to our days, and the now spartan white-painted interiors are somewhat used for performances or installations, but the hard surfaces and fixtures still remain as testament to less utilitarian and pseudo-minimalist times.

STONE STEPS DETAILS

Palácio dos Bicainhos (17th century), Braga. The gardens, with cantilevered stone steps accessing the top of the property wall.

WOOD STAIRS

Palácio dos Biscainhos, Braga

30's STAIRS

Garagem Passos Manuel, Porto  (1937 - Architect Mário Abreu)

STAIRCASE

Mercado do Bolhão, Porto (1914)

LIGHTHOUSE INTERIORS

Farol de Santa Marta, Cascais. Although the lighthouse was subjected to an atrocious "restoration" recently, the interior of the tower itself seems pretty much left untouched - except for the already crumbling plaster on the walls. The floor is composed of encaustic tiles.

ERNEST KORRODI - HOUSE IN LEIRIA - I

This is the first of three posts by the Swiss architect, Ernest Korrodi (1870-1944), author of more than 400 buildings all over Portugal. In Leiria, the city where he lived and worked, he was the author of many residences and public buildings. Among his work in Leiria is the creative restoration of the Castle, which is controversial still today. Other important works in the city are the Town Hall and the Bank of Portugal building. The pictures above show the stair and atrium of the residential building Marques da Cruz, built in the 1920s and located in Rua Mouzinho da Silveira.