Prédio TAP / Montepio de Moçambique

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Side view of the TAP / Montepio building with colored ceramic art by Gustavo de Vasconcellos. The lettering "A Linha Portuguesa" ("The Portuguese Line") of the airline TAP, which was previously housed there, has been preserved to this day
View of the building from the Praça da Independência from

The Prédio TAP / Montepio de Moçambique is an office and residential building on the corner of Avenida Samora Machel / Avenida Fernão Magalhães in the Central district of the Mozambican capital Maputo . The building, erected in 1960 according to plans by Alberto Soeiro , is one of the most famous examples of modernism in the former Portuguese colony due to its modern design and exterior design .

history

In the mid-1950s, the state airline TAP commissioned Alberto Soeiro, who had studied architecture at the University of Fine Arts in Porto from 1937 to 1946, to build a representative headquarters in Lourenço Marques. Gustavo de Vasconcellos supported Soeiro with the exterior design of the building. The building was completed in 1960 and the airline moved in that same year. Because of this, the building initially had the simple name “Prédio TAP” (TAP building). Later, the private bank Montepio de Moçambique also moved into the building, so that from now on the building bore the double name Prédio TAP / Montepio de Moçambique .

When Mozambique gained independence in 1975, both companies moved out of the building and the bank was nationalized. Since then, the offices in the building have been used by Mozambique state institutions. It is currently the headquarters of the Ministry of Natural Resources ( Ministério dos Recursos Naturais ).

Although the Portuguese airline TAP is no longer in the building, the lettering “A Linha Portuguesa” (The Portuguese Line) can still be seen on the side facade facing Avenida Samora Machel. The lettering “Montepio de Moçambique”, on the other hand, was removed as early as 1975.

Since 2011 the building has been in the preselection for a list of monuments for the city of Maputo. It is listed under the number 31721 in the Portuguese monument database Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico , which also includes works by former Portuguese colonies.

Architectural description

The building designed by Alberto Soeiro consists of two parts: the more dominant, ten-story, parallelepiped high-rise with apartments and a three-story porch with offices. The porch is dominated by its concrete sun canopies ( brise-soleils ) made of reddish clay, which were typical for the time . The facade of the high-rise building is broken through on the north and south sides by oversized verandas on the third, sixth and ninth floors.

The location on the Avenida Samora Machel leading to the city ​​hall as well as the height of the building itself make it easy to see. For this reason, the artist Gustavo de Vasconcellos designed the side facing the main street with large, colored ceramic panels that result in various Africanist patterns. Several reviewers note that these patterns give the building a “happy feel”. In the entrance area of ​​the building, Vasconcellos designed the massive supporting columns with various works of art that are supposed to show Mozambican residents.

Web links

Commons : TAP / Montepio building  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Madalena Cunha Matos, Tânia Beisl Ramos: Por Via do Atlântico: Traçados e Monumentos Urbanos no Brasil e em Territórios Africanos de Colonização Portuguesa. (PDF) Retrieved December 15, 2014 (Portuguese).
  2. ↑ a b c Tiago Lourenço: Prédio TAP / Montepio de Moçambique. In: Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico (SIPA). 2011, accessed December 15, 2014 (Portuguese).
  3. ↑ Ana Tostões, Jessica Bonito: Habitação colectiva na África Lusófona - Projectar com os ventos dominant. (PDF) 2013, p. 14 , accessed on December 15, 2014 (Portuguese).
  4. ↑ José Manuel Fernandes: Prédio TAP (ou Montepio de Moçambique). In: Património de Influência Portuguesa (HPIP). Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, October 18, 2012, accessed December 15, 2014 (Portuguese).
  5. ↑ José Manuel Fernandes: Arquitectura Moderna Portuguesa na África Subsahariana. 2009, accessed on December 15, 2014 (Portuguese, extended version of the text “Arquitectura Moderna na África Colonial de Expressão Portuguesa - algumas reflexões aplicadas ao século XXI - O contexto, os valores ea produção realizada; alguns temas e conclusões” for the exhibition catalog “ Cinco Áfricas - Cinco Escolas ”of the Portuguese delegation at the International Architecture Biennale of São Paulo, 2009).
  6. ↑ Carla Mirella de Oliveira Cortês, Fernando Diniz Moreira: Moderno Brasileiro em Moçambique, 1950-1975: A importação de uma imagem. (PDF) In: 9º seminário docomomo brasil. June 2011, accessed December 15, 2014 (Portuguese).


Coordinates: 25 ° 58 ′ 12.1 ″  S , 32 ° 34 ′ 18.8 ″  E