DE LA ESPADA VOLUME IV 49
Maria José Marques da Silva and David Moreira da
Silva are architects who, from the 1940s onwards,
primarily worked in urban planning, and it is
the diversity and depth of their expertise that
makes their work so exceptional. This is reflected
in Palácio do Comércio, where every scale was
considered from subtle interior details, such as
curved door and window frames, to the intricacies
of the building’s construction and how it would
sit on the street, in the neighbourhood and com-
munity. The couple, known for their attention to
detail and quality of materials and construction,
created a building that is expressive and varied
yet cohesive and rigorously engineered, now con-
sidered one of the most exceptional buildings in
the city.
When Atelier in.vitro, led by Joana Leandro
Vasconcelos, renovated three of the Palácio do
Comércio apartments on the 5th, 6th, and 7th
floors between 2013 and 2016, they did so with sen-
sitivity for the original design and discovered
that many aspects of the apartments exceeded
expectations when it came to longevity: “We kept
the windows because they are simply marvellous
and we couldn’t change them, and even the original
frame wooden doors. Everything was in very good
condition and very good woods so we felt no need
to change it. I think it’s the characteristics of
the building itself, the way it was designed and
built — very good design, very good materials...
we were working with a very good basis,” Joana
explains.
