Banca de DEFESA: CAROLINA GABRIELI GALVÃO DE SOUZA

RESTORATION AND RENOVATION OF THE CHURCH AND CONVENT OF NOSSA DA CONCEIÇÃO DA LAPA

Religious heritage. Architectural Restoration. Architectural Requalification.

The Church and Convent of Nossa Senhora da Conceição da Lapa are located in the center
of the city of Salvador, Bahia, in an area adjacent to the strict protection area of the
Historic Center, characterized by the presence of many religious monuments from the
colonial period. Built from the demand for new vacancies for nuns, due to the capacity of
the only female convent in Brazil (Convent of Desterro), the Convent of Lapa was
inaugurated in 1744, followed by the church. The Church and Convent of Lapa are
characterized by being an emblematic example of Portuguese-Brazilian female religious
and conventual architecture from the 18th century, being listed by the National Historical
and Artistic Heritage Institute, in 1938, as an architectural complex of high monumental
value composed by the church, convent, chaplain's house and garden area. The set, with
almost three centuries of history, is part of the collective memory of society and
religiosity, standing out for its historical, cultural and landscape value. The integrity of its
volumes and its architectural characteristics reveal the monumentality of the set and its
artistic value. Currently, the complex is in an accelerated process of degradation and is
partially in disuse, requiring its immediate restoration and adaptation to contemporary
dynamics. Therefore, this work aims to prepare a proposal for the restoration and
rehabilitation of the Church and Convent of Lapa, aiming at new uses to guarantee its
physical conditions, in response to the situation of abandonment and poor state of
conservation of the existing architectural complex. For the restoration and rehabilitation
of the complex, it is proposed the readjustment and expansion of various uses: religious,
educational, residential and commercial, in accordance with the dynamics of the
surroundings and the city, which provide the appropriation of spaces by the population.