The cultural centre, called Casa das Artes, is one of the first projects in the career of Eduardo Souto de Moura, and resulted from a competition.
Perhaps the most important criteria for this project was not to interfere with the existing garden, so that omitting became more important
than proposing. The architect answered to this task with a radicaly simple building, creating a calm and discrete architecture. From the access,
the building is nearly invisible. The building now constitutes a border of the precious garden, and separates it from nearby buildings. The construction is
primarily structured by simple walls. The stone wall, which is slightly adjusted at the doorway to articulate the entrace, is made of local granite.
The walls are roofed with a flat copper plated construction. The building rises only 2 m distanced from the trees, which should not be affected.
The building became famous for its elected materials and the careful construction, which is especialy obvious in the stairs connecting to the lower floor.
The floor plan of the building is of an extreme simplicity and nearly schematic geometric rigor. An exhibition space is located between two halls
for concerts and seminars, while a basement serves as a service zone. From the interior a window which opens to some speculative high-rise buildings
in the neighbourhood allows the only relationship with the city.