The Valmor and Municipal Architecture Prize recognises the architectural quality of new buildings constructed in the city of Lisbon and has been awarded since 1902. This prize "distinguishes, on an equal footing, the author of the project and the promoter of the work". The project distinguished in this edition was conceived and coordinated by Bernardo Pizarro Miranda, in co-authorship with Susana Rego and Pedro Pinto, with the collaboration of young architects trained at Iscte: Filipe Prudêncio, Francisco Freitas, Ruben Ferreira, Ana Catarina Santos, Madalena Dias, Carlos Vieira, Ana Lopes, Carolina See, Carlos Félix and João Antunes. Creating an internship opportunity for final-year students of the Architecture course at Iscte.

The construction met all the requirements of sustainability, aesthetics and innovation of the New European Bauhaus, being one of the European buildings listed by the "European Bauhaus Transformation of Places of Learning" program. The project focused on the reconstruction of the old IMT building – Institute for Mobility and Land Transport, which Iscte acquired from the State in 2011.

"There are three core principles of the project," says Bernardo Pizarro Miranda. "The first is based on the decision of the rector, Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues, to bring together in the first building of the Iscte complex with a façade facing the street all research activities, including doctorates". The second concerns the "use of the original implantation, set back from Avenida das Forças Armadas, enabling the creation of a garden for public use, open and integrated into the dynamic fabric of life in the city". The third, says the architect, "implied the use and reuse of part of the structure of the existing buildings, significantly reducing the carbon footprint of the new construction".

University without walls

Since November 2023, Iscte – Knowledge and Innovation (Building 4) has been the building that houses all its research and knowledge production units, involving more than a thousand researchers.

"The scientific research projects that have been developed for two years show the potential interface that 'Iscte – Knowledge and Innovation' has to cross the areas of engineering, technologies and architecture with the social and behavioural sciences, economics and management", says Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues, rector of Iscte. "This centre is the materialisation in Lisbon of the academic, architectural and urban concepts of the 'University without walls', which promote the interaction of academia with the surrounding social and economic fabric".

According to the rector, "With this building, Iscte opened up to the city and created a new circulation space that crosses two universities – Iscte and Lisbon". The total value of the investment was 19.5 million euros, co-financed with 7.7 million euros by the Lisbon Regional Operational Program 2014-2020. The building currently houses eight research units, along with three associated laboratories, three collaborative laboratories, a Digital Innovation Hub, a Technology Valorisation and Transfer Centre, eight observatories, and nine laboratories. With more than 9,000 square meters of rehabilitated area, the building features modular and multifunctional spaces that cater to the needs of research and digital transformation, including collaborative work areas, auditoriums, a data centre, laboratories, and social rooms.

"Iscte - Knowledge and Innovation aims to strengthen the interaction of academia with different stakeholders, including companies, public services and the community in general", says Jorge Costa, the vice-rector of Iscte responsible for the operation of the new scientific research centre. "With the knowledge production model that we are implementing, we promote innovation, interdisciplinary research and collaboration between the scientific community and society". The primary motivation, according to Jorge Costa, "is to offer innovative solutions to contemporary challenges".

It is not the first time that the Valmor Award has distinguished Iscte. In 1993, it received an honourable mention, awarded to the building of INDEG – Institute for Business Development and Management, designed by the architect Raul Hestnes Ferreira. In 2002, Raul Hestnes Ferreira won a Valmor Prize for Iscte for the first time for Building II, which was awarded on an equal footing with the Rectory of NOVA University Lisbon in Campolide.

Bernardo Pizarro Miranda was a disciple of Raul Hestnes Ferreira and worked in his studio when he won the Valmor Prize in 2002.