Betar

Capitólio movie theater

• Location: Lisbon, Portugal
• Solution: Buildings
• Type: Rehabilitation, Art, culture and sports
• Architecture: Alberto de Souza Oliveira
• Client: Lisbon City Hall
• Scope: Foundations and structure, demolitions and facade retainment
• Area: 2600m2
• Project: 2010
• Construction: 2012-2016
• Photography: Nelson Garrido / Rodrigo Cabral
• Contractor: Habitamega
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Designed in 1929 by the architect Luís Cristino da Silva and opened in 1931, it was one of the first reinforced concrete buildings in Portugal. It was presented as an innovative theater, music-hall and cinema, grouped in a large indoor showroom, with attached stage and dressing rooms and the cinema side on the upper outdoor terrace.

Over many decades, its uses and valences evolved, but it reached a very relevant point of degradation, particularly after its closure. Until its reopening, about 30 years passed.

For the rehabilitation work, an extensive campaign of structural inspection was carried out, with the objective of collecting the necessary information to develop the study of the building's stability. The inspection consisted in the structural survey of the building, as well as the evaluation of the characteristics of the materials, by sampling, using laboratory and "in situ" testing.

The rehabilitation and structural reinforcement intervention focused, mainly, on methodologies for envolving the reinforced concrete structure, in addition to new rebar, adoption of metal plates, injections, among others.

The rehabilitation of the building was awarded the Valmor 2016 prize.