The Castle of Santa Maria da Feira is the result of a century-old process of physical and functional transformation, as well as a continuous strengthening of the historical relationship between monument and city. The requirement to restore the site for cultural uses, including receptions, city events and conferences, marks the beginning of a design process that went through eight phases, from 1991 to 2003.

From the initial ambitious objective of including, in the design, the entire monumental complex, the intervention was resolved in two themes: a work of adaptation and continuity regarding the access road, entrance, ramp, and the main square; and a work of conservation and reuse of the keep.

If, in the first case, traditional materials are used, following the original traces and adapting them to current accessibility requirements, in the intervention in the keep, the existing elements coexist with new materials and technologies to solve and accommodate the new programme.

The main interventions in the keep included the restoration of the cellars - found in an archaeological campaign during the works - intended to house a small exhibition space, restrooms, a warehouse and the service access. The insertion of the elevator in the depth of one of the perimeter walls, so as not to interfere with the existing spatiality, allowed the connection to the two upper floors, following the same logic of integrating the staircase between the first and the ground floor.

The insertion of a balcony 4.20 meters from the ground floor allowed to reach a window on the west front that the 1940 restorations had left inaccessible. The same poetics of intervention in the old is conducted, here, on the scale of detail, where the historical opening system found in similar military fortresses is reproduced, without the design renouncing to assume its contemporaneity.