The Architect Raul Lino

Raul Lino da Silva was born in Lisbon in 1879 and passed away in the same city in 1974. One of the most prolific Portuguese artists, Lino had an uninterrupted artistic career spanning 70 years, during which he signed more than 700 architectural projects, including the design of the Comenda house. This project was actually one of his earliest works, completed in the first decade of the 20th century.

In 1890, at just 10 years old, Lino traveled to England, where he attended Saint James Roman Catholic School, located on the outskirts of Windsor. He spent three years in England before moving to Germany to study the language and pursue architecture.

In Hanover, Raul Lino attended a school of arts and crafts (Handwerker und Kunstgewerbeschule), where carpentry and furniture design were given special emphasis. He also attended theoretical classes at the Technical University (Technische Hochschule). Simultaneously, he worked in the studio of Professor Architect Albrecht Haupt, a scholar of Portuguese architecture from the 13th to the 17th centuries. This experience was instrumental in shaping both his professional profile and his personal character.

In 1897, at just 17 years old, Raul Lino returned to Portugal, determined to push back against the wave of foreign influences that had long permeated the country.

From his time in the United Kingdom and Germany, he brought back new concepts, which he skillfully reinterpreted with Portuguese cultural references. His travels from the north to the south of Portugal, particularly through the Alentejo region, further deepened his understanding of his own roots, proving essential to this reinterpretation. Another key influence on his architectural approach was his trip to Morocco in 1902.

Raul Lino was committed to developing a national character in architecture. Criticizing the foreign influences in Portugal, he advocated for a revival of traditional taste through his projects in the national style. In his early residential designs, the architect demonstrated a profound respect for historical tradition and an integration of the houses with their surrounding landscapes, as seen in several projects, including the design of the Quinta da Comenda house.

 

It was at the beginning of the 20th century that Raul Lino began designing his first houses, with some of the most iconic being the Casa Monsalvat (1901), Casa de Santa Maria (1902), Casa Silva Gomes (1902), Vila Tânger (1903), and Casa dos Patudos (1904). The initial design for the Comenda house also dates back to 1903.

“As I always say, architectural works are the result of a partnership between the architect and the client. If they understand each other well, the creation turns out perfectly; when there's no understanding, the result is flawed, if not outright deformed. The case of the Comenda house is very telling. I believe I’ve never encountered a situation quite like this one. Count Armand, the owner of the estate, was a client like few others. A man involved in major business ventures, with mines in Chile, but living in Paris, this Frenchman was very distinguished because he combined remarkable culture with the most modest demeanor you can imagine. He came every year to the original house, which was then the steward’s residence, and spent seasons resting in that isolation, dedicating much of his time to reading classical literature. One day, this man, who must have been around 40 years old, sought me out in Lisbon and told me what he had in mind, outlining a general plan of what he wanted. What surprised me was when he told me that he didn’t want me to draw a single line of the project until I had first experienced a moonlit night at the spot where he intended to build his house. To that end, he consulted the lunar calendar and arranged with me the day I would visit the estate to stay there for a full night. That’s what happened, and I spent the night in the modest steward’s house, along with his administrator and secretary, so that I could witness what that landscape was like under a full moon! – The result is there for all to see; and you can understand, in its entirety, the academic and southern taste that pleased that civilized Frenchman."

Raul Lino, "Raul Lino seen by himself," Vida Mundial, Lisbon, Sociedade Nacional de Tipografia, Nº1589, November 21, 1969, p. 31.

Watch here RTP's biographical documentary entitled "Raul Lino, Livre como o Cipreste"