The accessible path to the Estrela Basilica, is a surgical and silent intervention, deployed in an empty area contiguous to the church. The project consists of a subtle topographic operation, built with blocks of stone, in the continuity of the Basilica’s monumental churchyard.
Estrela Basilica, considered National Monument, is the central piece of the former Convent of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The set was planned in the late 18th Century order by the Queen Mary the 1st. Mateus Vicente and Reinaldo dos Santos, in different times, were the architects, from the school of Mafra, that were in charge
of this ambitious intervention.
Following a late baroque style, the project of the building foresaw a symmetric composition. In the initial plans, the Basilica, with its dome and the double steeple towers, would occupy a relief place. A royal square with the statue of the Queen was also planned to be built in front of the Basilica, aiming at reinforcing its monumentality. The peninsular war and then the liberal fights, imposed the construction interruption. The north wing of convent and square were never built. Instead of it, an exotic garden occupied those areas.
The new intervention takes advantage of the incomplete status of the building, promoting a plateau, built with the same lioz stone, used in the monument construction. The big tipuana tipu trees, that featured the place, were integrated in the project. The trunks of those majestic trees suggest a colonnade that follow the new promenade architectural. A long bench limits the new accessible path, inviting people to a contemplative moment in this romantic garden, plenty of exotic species brought form former Portuguese colonies of Africa and Brazil.

The program consisted in the elimination of architectural barriers in accessing the Estrela Basilica, without interfere with the monumental baroque stair that exist in the front of the temple. A ramp was created on the side of the building allowing to reach the churchyard plateau. A wide limestone floor, characterises the intervention. At the edge of the new mineral pavement, a long bench was designed, inviting a contemplative stop associated with the intervention. The new paving and stone bench reinforce the classic expression of the project, and its dilution in the garden that mediates the relationship with the church. A vinca cover (Catharanthus roseus), harmonizes the various shrubs that dot the garden. A delicate Californian tree characterises the vegetable setting juxtaposing the side gable of the temple.
The intersection between the new intervention and the churchyard of the Basilica was worked out, based on rigorous details, namely through the correctness of the stereotomy of the new floor in relation to the Basilica building entrance.