7. Lucas Rohan, “Brasileiros já compram mais casas em Portugal do que os chineses,” September 21, 2016, in: br.sputniknews.com/ sociedade/201609216375095brasileiros-imoveis-portugal/. Accessed on January 25, 2018.
8. “Segmento de luxo com dinâmica consolidada,” in: Suplemento Imobiliário, Jornal Público, January 21, 2018, p.3. 9. João Batista Jr., “Paulistas compram 50% das unidades de novo condomínio português,” November 26, 2017, in: vejasp.abril. com.br/blog/terraco-paulistano/ paulistanois-mudanca-portugalvalor. Accessed on March 3, 2018. 10. Refer to Porta da Frente Christie’s, which operates in the luxury market in the area of Cascais, Grande Lisboa and Alentejo, and regularly holds editions of the event in Rio de Janeiro and in São Paulo, in partnership with Brazilian real estate and law firms. See www. portadafrente.com. Accessed on March 3, 2018.
11. Ibid.
estate in the country, behind only the French and English.7 Less than two years later, in January 2018, operators of the luxury market were already announcing that the Brazilians were their biggest buyers.8 The demand is so great that some real estate offerings have been launched in cities in the interior of São Paulo State.9 And in Brazil’s two largest cities, since 2015 the event Real estate Investment in Portugal has been held periodically, with support from the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and organized by a Portuguese real estate firm affiliated with the global network of the famous Christie’s auction house.10 But what are these Brazilians looking for in terms of architecture? A garage, 24-hour doorman, half-bath, suite, walk-in closet, maid’s room, utility area, elevator and leisure area are systematically demanded by those who do not want to give up the socio-spatial practices typical of Brazil—even though many are practically unthinkable in Europe, especially in the historical centers of cities such as Lisbon or Porto. A gap is thus revealed between the cultural model of origin and the local context, which is passed on to the architects: how to ensure garage spaces in cities where the car is not prioritized or, at least, is forced to exist within more rigorous limits than are normal in Brazil? And if the idea of a maid’s room or utility area—legacies of the slavery introduced by the Portuguese colonization, is out of keeping with European culture, where to find equipment like a household laundry tank, practically indissociable from Brazilian residences but inexistent on the Portuguese market? Meanwhile, in the streets of Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra or Cascais, showcases full of rendered images of the latest residential releases vie for the most prominent advertizing spaces on downtown streets. The real estate agents—or “mediators,” as they prefer to be called—generally mention the preference of Brazilians for apartments in centenary buildings that have been refurbished and delivered practically finished, with built‑in cupboards and household appliances. This is the case of The Cordon, an 18th-century building in the historical area of Chiado, in Lisbon, which had 42% of its one dozen apartments sold before the refurbishing work started, 80% of the units were snatched up by either Portuguese or Brazilian buyers.11 Or that of Liberdade 203, located on the most elegant avenue in Lisbon. There, the Brazilians are the majority among those who have invested in the luxurious project by Portuguese architect Frederico Valsassina, where the absence of garage space was solved with a tunnel that leads to the basement of a contiguous building. Even so, wealthier owners often introduce alterations in the designs, aimed at adapting them to their standards of comfort and ways of life. Some buy two apartments and hire an architect to unite them, which in some cases