LOLA

LOLA Landscape Architects is responsible for the landscape framework of the Marvila Masterplan, a large-scale urban regeneration project on Lisbon’s eastern riverfront. Covering approximately 28 hectares between the neighbourhoods of Marvila and Beato, the masterplan transforms a fragmented area shaped by industrial uses, large infrastructure and limited public space into a coherent and resilient urban district. Recently approved by Lisbon City Council, the project establishes a long-term spatial structure capable of evolving over time.

The masterplan is developed by a multidisciplinary team led by OODA, in collaboration with MVRDV, LOLA Landscape Architects and Thornton Tomasetti. Landscape is positioned as the primary organising system through which architecture, infrastructure, ecology and public life are integrated. The plan defines a new urban and landscape framework for one of the largest regeneration projects currently under development in the city.

Landscape as Backbone
The landscape strategy structures four development areas – Açúcar, POLU, Beato and Madre Deus – into one continuous urban system. It transforms a fragmented and largely abandoned territory into a new urban centre. A network of parks, green corridors, courtyards and public squares establishes spatial continuity across the site, addressing the strong physical divisions caused by rail infrastructure and future mobility corridors.

Public space is conceived not as residual surface, but as the defining framework guiding density, movement and everyday use. At the centre of the masterplan lies a large urban park that functions simultaneously as civic space and environmental infrastructure. The park supports leisure, sport and social activity while integrating climate-responsive systems for rainwater management, biodiversity and microclimatic regulation. It also mediates the presence of major infrastructural elements, including the railway and the future Third Tagus Crossing, using topography, planting and spatial depth to transform barriers into transitions.

Ecology, Time and Identity
LOLA’s landscape approach integrates climate adaptation and ecological performance from the outset. Water is retained, slowed and reused through planted basins and permeable systems that operate across scales. Planting strategies promote biodiversity and seasonal variation, reinforcing long-term resilience under changing climatic conditions. The public space framework is designed to function during all implementation phases, ensuring accessibility and continuity throughout the area’s gradual transformation.

Existing heritage structures and site-specific elements are embedded within the landscape design. Landmarks such as the Convento do Beato are framed by public space, while singular natural features, including a centuries-old

rubber tree, inform the identity and geometry of key urban spaces. The Marvila Masterplan will deliver housing, public facilities and commercial programs supported by a robust landscape structure. For LOLA Landscape Architects, the project demonstrates landscape as a long-term urban system, capable of connecting infrastructure and daily life while shaping a resilient future district for Lisbon.