Multifunctionel social center (CASP) - architect António Vicente de Castro

The preliminary design for the CASP in Portimão from 1956 by architect António Vicente de Castro had as its program: a crèche for 60 children between 18 months and 3 years old; a Center for Mother and Child Care; a Social Intelligence Service; a Family Assistance Center and a girls' shelter. The final draft of the CASP in Portimão was submitted in 1957.

According to the architect (1956), the land was located next to the main industrial area of the city, on a plot with a steep slope to the north, divided into three levels, which determined the location of the building. To save on earth moving, the solution chosen was to lower the main building and center section and use the resulting height difference as a basis for the architectural composition, organized in two blocks connected by an external covered ramp.

​The first block, in the north, is divided into two floors. The main access is via a street on the north side of the plot, which runs partly along the building to the entrance of the block where the route splits to the ground floor, with a covered outdoor atrium that formed the transition between the high and lower block. On the upper floor, access is via a covered outdoor gallery that runs over the entire south facade. The laboratory block, located to the south, is accessed via a street on the western edge of the plot. The transition between the outside and inside of this block is made by a covered outside gallery that runs along the south and west facades.

Already in the preliminary design, the architect points out that to guarantee the convenience and comfort of children and users, height differences would be bridged by "ramps", with the exception of access to technical areas (basement and service terrace) which are via a staircase realised. The orientation and sun protection of the living spaces is also one of the architect's concerns, which is why they have a shaded outdoor gallery that also serves as an outdoor playground.

These spaces were oriented to the south, with the exception of the refectory space, which, due to its orientation to the west, had a greater distance from the boundaries of the outer gallery. Open masonry, or cobogós, wooden lattices and vertical concrete slabs were also used as exterior sun protection and facade composition elements. As a ventilation system, high spans were planned next to the slab with fixed or mobile grilles that promoted cross ventilation and soft light.

In the description of the building, the architect refers to the main materials representative of the tradition of the Algarve, including the wooden grilles, the walls covered with colored ceramic tiles and the whitewashed surfaces. The architect adds that although the main finish of the walls are whitewashed, the recessed surfaces that framed the spans "could be given color, so stimulating to the sensitivity of children", which, on the other hand, would enhance the white of the remaining surfaces, in comparison to what "happens in the fields and villages of the Algarve where the whitewashed colors look more vibrant when framed with colored bands".

Current project status (CASP) Portimão

With the increase in population and the evolution of local needs, the demand for childcare provided by Lar da Criança in Portimão grew. In 1983, when the Portimão Health Center released the facilities it had, the LCP occupied the entire building and added the activity and leisure center to the nursery

To meet the institution's growing need for space, in 1997 the project for the expansion of the CASP in Portimão was designed by the architect António Vicente de Castro in collaboration with his daughter, the architect Maria Luísa Avelar de Castro. The project consisted of creating a new block, to the south of the plot, rising from the pavement, supported by concrete posts, creating a large covered outdoor play area on the ground floor and interior spaces for rooms on the upper floor. This block was connected to that of the nursery by two sets of ramps, located at the ends of the external covered gallery to the south of it.​

The CASP in Portimão has been the target of numerous clandestine expansion works to date, almost completely taking over the free land to the east of the Crèche block. In August 2017, the CASP of Portimão was proposed by Docomomo for the classification of "monument of general interest". In March 2018, the announcement regarding the opening of the property classification procedure was made. However, in September of the same year, the Administrative and Fiscal Court of Loulé stopped the classification process and upheld the objection filed by the institution's management, arguing that the interests of the children outweighed the defense of the building.