Headquarters of Polícia Judiciária | Saraiva + Associados

The new headquarters of the Portuguese criminal investigation police force – Polícia Judiciária -, in Lisbon, Portugal, was inaugurated in March 2014. Saraiva + Associados was responsible for the architecture project, which aimed to conserve the history and values of this public institution. The total intervention area has  98.000 sqm.

«The Polícia Judiciária is undoubtedly one of the most prestigious and emblematic institutions in Portugal. Although we associate rigor, discipline and austerity to this institution, its new headquarters has a corporative but humanized image, without an austere scale. The geometric skin gives the new building a unified image, reducing its impact on the neighborhood», Miguel Saraiva, CEO and leading Architect at Saraiva + Associados, explains.

The exterior image of the building reflects a modern style of clean lines, through glazed facades interspersed with opaque elements, giving it a balanced composition of volumes. The building is equipped with high technology and safety features that make it one of the most advanced institutional buildings in Portugal.

The new building was built on a hierarchy of geometric recessions that reduce the impact on the urban surroundings. It has a Northeast/Southwest orientation, with maximum volumetric of 11 floors above the ground level and two large central courtyards that interleave the volumes and unify the built set. Its interior courtyards provide natural light, creating a pleasant workspace.

The new headquarters, located at Rua Gomes Freire, in Lisbon, is integrated into an urban site with great historical value, which Saraiva + Associados project intended to honor, creating a modern and functional solution.

Until the late nineteenth century this urban site was a transitional space between the rural suburbs and the historic center of Lisbon. In the transition to the twentieth century the site has undergone a marked process of urbanization with the construction of Camões College, in 1909, the Veterinary Medicine Faculty, between 1927 and 1937, and the old headquarters of the Polícia Judiciária and National Identification Archives, between 1956 and 1958.

In the words of Almeida Rodrigues, national director of Polícia Judiciária, the new headquarters «is amongst the best in the world for criminal investigation institutions», he said during the inauguration ceremony. For Paula Teixeira da Cruz, Portuguese Minister of Justice,  this «high quality work allows the return of Polícia Judiciária to its original matrix, concentrating all services in a building, with greater operational efficiency and reduced maintenance costs».