Continuing the challenge we set ourselves to share our history and evolution, as a company and entity of commercial and historical reference, both for the sector and for the city's own culture and identity, we invited Architect Carlos prata arquiteto to write about their relationship with Carvalho, Batista & Cª., Lda, following this path of celebrating the company's 70 years.

"TRIBUTE TO MR CARVALHO
of Carvalho, Baptista e Cª Lda
It was the late 1970s. Having just finished the school part of my architecture degree at ESBAP, I was working on a project that included carpentry with a new design and a reproduction/interpretation of what was done in the 18th and 19th centuries. Faced with the difficulty of prescribing the right interior and exterior fittings, I turned to architect Jorge Gigante, a friend and teacher who knew a lot about construction, and asked where I could get information about this specific world. He immediately told me: "You have to go to Mr Carvalho".
I walked into the shop at Rua do Almada 79 and I came across the buzz of those attending and waiting for their turn (at the time, there were no first-come, first-served tickets) along the long counter that organised the deep space, defined by display drawers/cabinets and showcases full of fittings, as you can still see today.
I asked to speak to Mr Carvalho. They looked me up and down and asked what I wanted. After some waiting, I was told to go forward to the double-leafed door of the space that preceded the endless warehouse - the "boss's" room - where I had seen the beginners enter directly.
When asked what tooked me there, and after a moment of silence to take in my message - which made me a little apprehensive, as I hadn't realised that Mr Carvalho was very fond of gauging the reactions of strangers to his blunt, affirmative presence, which was punctuated by the straight line of his impeccably trimmed black moustache - he told me a phrase, which I can't pinpoint, but which made sense: "a request from my friend Gigante is always well received". Then, explaining my ignorance and desire to learn, he surprised me: "Saturday morning I'll come to your office and take all the catalogues needed".
And so it was. On that glorious morning 48 years ago, in our office in Ribeira, I fell even more in love with designing and checking how the detail worked, as I watched a parade of solutions I had never thought of. At the same time, I was forever in awe of the man who demonstrated his immense knowledge and his willingness to use a Saturday morning to help those starting out in the difficult craft of architecture. And over the years these classes were repeated, either by him or by the collaborators he selected to accompany me.
I later met architect José Carvalho and we became friends. And I realised that Mr Carvalho left a legacy that goes beyond the company he built. Whether it's his anecdotes, his way of being and relating, his generosity and availability, or his ability to keep up to date, you can see in Zé the genes of the man I want to honour here.
And that's why I've always said to everyone: "If you don't know and want to know, you'll understand and learn everything about hardware at Carvalho & Baptista".
Porto | 27.APR.24




BACK TO NEWS