SPACE June 2026 (No. 703)
Interview Diogo Figueiredo Principal, REDO architects × Lee Sowoon
Lee Sowoon (Lee): This is a public project that renovates a market building that had long served as a key community facility for the neighbourhood. What prompted this renovation?
Diogo Figueiredo (Figueiredo): This building was originally a dairy farmhouse that was converted into a market hall in 1962, with the transformation of this territory from farmland into a social housing neighbourhood on the periphery of Lisbon. The 1962 market was quite exemplary in its organisation, with half of the area dedicated to the main hall and its facilities, and the other half dedicated to shops. Between 1962 and 2019, the main hall was subdivided into different parts, losing its hall character and spatiality—the building ended up consisting only of shops and was lacking accessibility and daylight, requiring an overall renovation. During those years, the neighbourhood around the market grew into one of the largest social housing hubs in the Iberian Peninsula and needed not only to recover its main hall but also add an extension with new polyvalent spaces to meet the demands of a growing population.
Lee: What was your first impression of the building? Which parts did you think should be preserved, and which parts needed to be changed?
Figueiredo: The first impression was that the building had been rotated 180 degrees, since most of the neighbourhood development happened on the opposite side of the original entrance, and there was no access from the main street. At the same time, we had to keep all the vendors, and we were interested in this historical overlay of transformations and memories. The first strategy was therefore to restore the market to its original 1962 configuration, maintaining the main tall halls and overall structure, which was actually quite well organised. To achieve that, we had to undo the more recent subdivisions that had fragmented the space. We also structurally reinforced all the walls for earthquake resistance, and took the opportunity to create new openings, enabling more fluid circulation and direct access from the public space.
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Architect
REDO architects (Diogo Figueiredo)
Design team
Ivo Lapa, Catarina Figueiras, Xavier Seixas, Susanne Kozlowski, Beatriz Carpinteiro, Joana Matos
Location
Lisbon, Portugal
Programme
market hall
Site area
2,107m²
Gross floor area
1,512㎡
Building scope
2F
Structure
steel frame, timber structure
Exterior finishing
thermowood, polycarbonate
Interior finishing
tile, stone
Structural engineer
PPE Engenharia
Mechanical and electrical engineer
OMF Engenharia
Construction
Cofral
Design period
2019 – 2020
Construction period
2022 – 2025
Cost
1.5 million EUR
Client
Junta Freguesia de Carnide
Diogo Figueiredo
Diogo Figueiredo is the Founder of REDO architects, based in Lisbon and Basel. The practice was nominated for the EU Mies van der Rohe Award 2026 and received the FORMA National Award. He holds a Master’s degree from the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio and a Bachelor’s from Lusíada University in Lisbon. From 2011 to 2018, he worked at Herzog & de Meuron in Basel.
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