This singular architectural work took its most stable form in the early years of the 20th century. Today, Almada Negreiros School is essentially a parallelepiped 160 meters long and 14 meters wide, with 3 very similar floors, approximately 7 meters from floor to floor, making it 21 meters high, and a hipped roof. As the terrain slopes downward, from the semicircular staircase in front of the main façade, a sloping basement emerges, culminating at the church’s back, whose main axis is not quite orthogonal to the enormous façade. Behind it, beyond the aforementioned parallelepiped, there are two fully enclosed courtyards and one open one created by the intersection of two- or three-story structures, possibly the result of construction campaigns throughout the 19th century, but also of much more recent interventions.
Of this complex, two cylindrical towers at the ends of the parallelepiped and adjacent to the southeast-facing façade, 30 and 40 meters high, allow for astronomical observations, and enclose a spiral staircase that provided more discreet access to the three floors. This staircase, along with the two auditoriums and the Main Hall, are ideal venues for cultural events at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa.
