Musa Brewery

The district of Marvila, in the eastern part of Lisbon, is currently undergoing a significant transformation. After decades of gradual abandonment following the city’s deindustrialisation, it has become one of Lisbon’s emerging neighbourhoods, marked by the appearance of new shops, cafés, art galleries, co-working spaces and creative industries. The project responds to this context by seeking a balance between the industrial character of the existing building and the creation of a relaxed, convivial atmosphere for social gatherings centred on music and beer.

A previously vacant warehouse was brought back to life through a new industrial use. The intervention accommodates a brewery, a taproom and the necessary technical areas. At the time of the commission, the duration of the brewery’s presence on the site was uncertain, as the prospect of a future real-estate development loomed over the area. This condition of impermanence called for a restrained, economical and reversible architectural strategy.

Service areas are housed within a new, clearly defined volume constructed from painted concrete blocks and exposed concrete, positioned at the threshold between the brewery and the taproom. The taproom explores notions of craftsmanship, with equal care given to the overall spatial atmosphere and to smaller construction details. In the brewery, the design focuses on efficiently accommodating the technical equipment required for beer production, in strict compliance with regulatory and operational constraints.