A sense of history.
A life of your own.
Classical houses, interiors and gardens by
JOSE CORNELIO DA SILVA
Architecture in practice since 1983.
Architecture in practice since 1983.
01 / YOUR STARTING POINT
The places you love.
The possibilities ahead.
Perhaps it is the calm of a well-proportioned room, the welcome of an old house or a garden that feels like a world of its own. We begin with what draws you to a place, then give it a form that belongs to your life.
A new house with character
Classical proportions and regional traditions, brought to an entirely new design.
A familiar home, reimagined
Preserve what makes a property special while opening it to the way you live now.
A room. A courtyard. A garden.
Interiors, decorative painting and outdoor spaces, considered around the moments of daily life.
Selected projects.
Seven commissions in Portugal, from new houses and historic estates to an apartment designed around its owner’s collection.
Selected projects by JOSE CORNELIO DA SILVA. Each project sets out the scope of the intervention.
03 / PAINTING, DECORATION & DETAIL
Architecture,
with a painter’s eye.
Painting and the decoration of rooms and ceilings are part of the studio’s work. Colour, painted ornament, timber and stone are considered alongside proportion and light, giving an interior its own identity.
A moment of arrival.
The top-lit hall at Casa Dornberg gives an everyday passage its own presence.
See the house
The art of a room.
The painted central panel, carved cornice and timber ceiling at Casa da Prova show how decoration and architecture can form a complete interior.
Explore the room
A place for what you treasure.
An Art Deco bathroom in Lisbon, designed around its owner’s collection and personal taste.
See the apartment
04 / ONE SENSE OF PLACE
A view. A path.
A place to pause.
House and garden shape one another. A window frames a tree; a terrace becomes a place for lunch; a sheltered corner invites you to stay a little longer.
We consider interiors and landscape in relation to the architecture, whether the starting point is a single room, a courtyard or a wider property. Scale may change. The care given to the experience of a place remains.
Explore house and garden
05 / THE ARCHITECT
JOSE CORNELIO
DA SILVA
An architect’s judgement.
A painter’s eye.
JOSE CORNELIO DA SILVA is a Portuguese architect and painter, in architectural practice since 1983. His work brings together classical and traditional design, the renewal of historic buildings, interiors and gardens.
The painting and decoration of rooms and ceilings extend that practice into colour, ornament and the atmosphere of an interior.
Trained in architectural conservation at ICCROM in Rome, he has also advised on historic interiors and fresco restoration. His academic work includes founding and leading the architecture school at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Viseu and directing the University of Notre Dame’s Rome Studies Program.
For a client, that combination brings the building and its decoration into one conversation: how should the rooms feel, what should they hold, and how can their character become personal?
How a project begins06 / WORKING TOGETHER
First, a conversation.
Then, a direction.
You do not need a finished brief to begin. A place, a few photographs or an idea of the life you want to make there can be a useful starting point.
- 01
Understand your place
Talk about what you value, how you live and what you would like to change. Look at the property, its setting and the character you hope to create.
- 02
Find the possibilities
Consider what to retain, what to adapt and what to introduce. Establish a design direction that connects your wishes with the nature of the place.
- 03
Define the commission
Discuss the scope, priorities, budget and next steps. Give the project a clear basis before the design develops in greater detail.
QUESTIONS YOU MAY BE ASKING
Can a completely new house have the character I love?
Yes. Character can grow from the way a house is proportioned, the materials it uses and how it meets its setting. Casa Dornberg was built entirely anew, combining Palladian composition with Portuguese regional traditions.
Explore Casa DornbergCan an old property change without losing its identity?
The first task is to understand what gives it that identity. At Casa da Prova, restoring a roofless family house involved structural repairs, renewed services and detailed carpentry, together with a new granite wing. Preservation and new work serve the same purpose: making the house live again.
Explore Casa da ProvaCan the starting point be an interior or a garden?
Yes. An interior, an addition or an outdoor space can be the focus of a commission. We consider how that part relates to the whole, with the scope shaped around what your property and your life need.
Explore a Lisbon interiorCan you design the painting and decoration as well?
Yes. The painting of rooms and ceilings, colour and decorative composition can form part of a commission. We consider them with the architecture, joinery, materials and light, so that a room feels coherent from its proportions to its smallest details.
Explore painting and decorationWhat should I bring to a first conversation?
Photographs or plans of the property, a sense of its location, and examples of places you admire are helpful. Tell us what works for you now, what feels missing, and any priorities for timing and budget. An early idea is enough to start a useful discussion.
07 / CONTACT
Contact the studio.
For a project enquiry, tell us about the property, its location and what you have in mind.
Jose Cornelio da Silva
Arquitecto · OA 2076
- Telephone
- +351 913 217 740
- jcs@csarchstudio.com
- Address
- Largo Maria Leonor, 5, 2.º Esq.-A
1495-144 Algés
Portugal