Portugal
The Legal Innovation Center is located in the historic center of Bragança.
Over the years, the building underwent several modifications to accommodate different uses, some of which compromised its original character. This project aimed to restore and enhance its key architectural features.
Nacional Center for Legal Innovation by Joaquim Portela Arquitetos, received an 2026 International Architecture Honourable Mention from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.
As the building is part of the urban historical context of the city, the intervention preserved the building’s volume, maintaining the main facade, perimeter walls, and key architectural elements such as the wooden roof structure, the ceiling of the main room, the stone stairway, the rear facade, side shutters, and original carpentry details.
The design concept centers around the monumentality of the existing stone staircase.
It was decided to give the staircase a new life, not with the initial reducing purpose for which it was created – to cause an impact of monumentality on those who entered the building with a uniquely scenic character – but to extend this monumentality to the entire building, defining a way, which at the same time creates/distributes the intended program for the building’s new function and reinforces the building’s historical essence.
The Legal Innovation Center in Bragança was restored to preserve its architectural identity. Key elements like the main facade, stone staircase, and wooden roof were maintained.
The staircase, once a grand entrance feature, now extends through the building, creating continuity and strengthening its historical character while serving its new function.
Project: Nacional Center for Legal Innovation
Architects: Joaquim Portela Arquitetos
Lead Architect: Joaquim Portela and Marta Couto Rocha
Design Team: Filipa Roque, Mafalda Martins, Emma Wang, Pedro Queirós, and Patrícia Silva
Contractor: Habinordeste – Sociedade De Construções, Lda.
Client: Câmara Municipal de Bragança
Photographers: José Campos
