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Article: Focus on Portugal: Portuguese materials such as ceramics, stone and cork have shaped the country's buildings and fuelled its manufacturing industries. Catherine Slessor considers the history of some well-known materials and how contemporary designers and manufacturers are meeting the challenges of the modern marketplace.(products)
- Article from:
- The Architectural Review
- Article date:
- July 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 EMAP Architecture. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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To a profound extent, Portuguese architecture was and continues to be shaped by the availability of local materials. The country's great tradition of tile making and design has left an indelible and distinctive mark on the Portuguese built environment. Richly tiled facades and interiors have come to characterise Portuguese architecture and few things are as expressive as its painted ceramic tiles, or azulejos.
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The notion of covering walls, floors and even ceilings was originally introduced to the lberian peninsula by the Moors (azulejo originating from the Arabic al-zuleycha). From the start of the sixteenth century, as ...