As we walk down Madre Deus Street, on Chelas’ Valley, we can see a wall going all the way from Madre Deus Convent up to Nisa Palace. From the street, the countless urban interventions done therein are easily perceived. However, it is only when we cross that wall that we are able to grasp the complexities develop over time. That place where crowded and empty spaces meet, yearns for some much-needed boundaries’ clarification and a refreshed identity.

Nonetheless where once such walls have hosted a convent and a palace, today stands the National Museum of Tile and D. Maria Pia School. By means of a demolition, rehabilitation and construction strategy, we offer an Expansion of the Museum aimed not only at providing for the current and effective needs of the Museum, but also in creating an Up-keep and Restoration School. The link between the two worlds – the Museum and the School – intends to implement new museology theories and honor the historical connection between the Convent and the Palace that has never ceased to exist.