English
Carvalho e Freitas Building
Luanda [São Paulo de Luanda], Luanda, Angola
Equipment and Infrastructures
A building in the shape of an “L” located at the intersection of Mutamba Square with the former Pereira Forjaz Street. The project, designed by João Garcia de Castilho (1915-2007) in association with Alberto José Pessoa (1919-1985), was published in 1951 in Arquitectura magazine in Lisbon. Principally conceived as a hotel, its plan also foresaw the construction of stores on the ground level, offices on the first floor, a bar/ballroom and restaurant on the upper two floors – functions that are clearly shown on the exterior according to the functionalist axioms (form follows function). Its architectural style alludes to the orthodoxy of Le Corbusier as can be seen in the ground floor resting on pilotis, the terraced roof, the deep verandas protected by shade panels, testing the adaptability of modern forms and construction systems to the resolution of specific tropical restrictions.