Ornate paintings and decorative stucco ceilings appear inside the self-designed studio of architecture practice Aires Mateus, which occupies an 18th-century building in Lisbon, Portugal.
Aires Mateus' four-storey studio, which has been named Atelier Cecílio de Sousa after the street it's located on, contains working and meeting spaces, two model-making areas and a multipurpose room.
Existing decorative features throughout the 18th-century building have been restored, while the damaged roof structure has been entirely rebuilt.

Two meeting rooms and two areas for models are dotted across the building's four levels, while the remaining space is dedicated to workstations.
The focal point of the building is the second-floor meeting area called the Noble Room, which has elaborate decorative details that were retained . Specialised restoration work was required on the tiling found in the room's skirtings, wainscoting and framing panels, as well as the stucco and painted elements on the ceiling.

An all-white curved staircase connects the third and fourth floor. With windows on the north facade, a large room is used as a multipurpose space, where the studio holds workshops and lectures.
Storage and technical spaces are placed on the ground floor, alongside a parking area.

Several small, shed-like structures from previous renovation projects were removed from the office's double-height courtyard. This space has been turned into a garden with a water mirror.
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