As cities grow denser and the boundaries between work, leisure, and learning continue to dissolve, the need to connect people and the environment increased. The Oriente Green Campus, located in the eastern district of Lisbon, is a pioneering example of this shift. Situated in Moscavide, Loures on a 3.7-hectare site (about 9.14 acres), the project transforms an abandoned commercial development into a high-performing, green infrastructure hub.

From Commercial Block to Green Campus
Initially conceived in 2012 as a shopping mall complex, the site remained unfinished and unused for nearly a decade. Today, it is reborn as a contemporary campus of thoughtfully designed outdoor space. Further, 91% of the original building structure was retained to align with circular economy principles and significantly reduce the structure's environmental impact. This adaptive reuse saved approximately 20,000 tons of CO2 emissions, making it one of the most sustainable urban regeneration projects in Portugal.

The landscape architecture team at LJ-Group offered a holistic reinterpretation of the building and its surroundings. The architectural intervention preserved the formal and spatial clarity of the original design while infusing it with new life. The landscape takes a more radical stance - reimagining the site's hard, grey slabs into a series of layered, living environments.

Landscape Architecture: Reclaiming Public Space
Despite being entirely built over a slab, the landscape design integrates rich green areas into rooftops, patios, and entrance zones, creating a vibrant ecosystem in an otherwise artificial environment. The goal was not only aesthetic but deeply functional: to provide comfortable, sustainable, and adaptable outdoor spaces that enhance the building's usability and the health of its users.

In this context, the landscape becomes more than just trees and plants; it manages water, modulates temperature, encourages biodiversity, and fosters social life. The design allows for an alternative to the sterile, sealed-off spaces of traditional office parks and instead becomes a series of open, inclusive spaces that embrace both programmed and spontaneous use.

The landscape is structured across four different levels. First, the central void is a multifunctional plaza with a welcoming atmosphere, featuring an amphitheater and flexible gathering areas. The space acts as a soft threshold between the street and the campus interior. Then, the light wells allow for intimate green lounges that bring light and nature into the heart of the building. These sunken gardens break the slab to create new ecological pockets. Central, informal gathering spaces within courtyards are defined by surrounding vegetation and casual seating, which support day-to-day interactions, social pauses, and outdoor events. The third level features a blend of interior offices and outdoor spaces. Lastly, the panoramic sky gardens offer spectacular views of the Tagus River from the rooftops, designed for decompression, informal meetings, and social interaction.

 

Each level utilizes recurring materials such as concrete and granite for spatial unity and regional coherence, while the planting strategy emphasizes native and drought-resistant species.

Sustainability and Innovation
Oriente Green Campus is not just green in appearance - it is engineered for high performance. The project is the first in Portugal to achieve both LEED Platinum and WELL Platinum certifications, setting a national benchmark for sustainable and wellness-focused design.

Sustainable strategies were an important element of the project. The client wanted to incorporate practices like natural ventilation that operates 130 days a year, polystyrene-based nodular drainage systems that reduce slab load while providing efficient water retention and discharge, automated irrigation systems with rain sensors, and localized drip distribution.

The selection of low-maintenance and low-water planting schemes that support year-round greenery, extensive green roofs that mitigate the urban heat island effect, retain rainwater and provide habitats for local fauna, and photovoltaic panels integrated into the roof structure to offset operational energy consumption also were important elements.

Design Objectives and Process
The design objectives sought to soften the monumental scale of the architecture through a biomorphic, human-scaled design, provide outdoor spaces that support leisure, informal work, and community gatherings, and establish a resilient and ecologically diverse green structure that functions as a living system.

These goals were achieved through an integrated design process that embraced cross-disciplinary collaboration and user-focused solutions. Through close collaboration between Landscape Architects, engineers, biologists, lighting designers, and client representatives, the campus was conceived as a continuous experience, where indoor and outdoor zones flow seamlessly into one another.

Education and Work in Harmony
One of the most innovative aspects of Oriente Green Campus is its programmatic mix. Over 17,000 square meters of the built area will be dedicated to education for the next 20 years. This includes the relocation of Universidade Europeia, IADE - Faculty of Design, and IPAM - Marketing School, all a part of The Europa Education Group.

This convergence of work and study reinforces the notion of the "campus" as a place of shared knowledge, productivity, and well-being. Informal outdoor classrooms, amphitheater-style seating, collaborative gardens, and event lawns support a dynamic and flexible learning environment. These spaces are not merely decorative - they are pedagogical tools, enabling new ways of teaching and learning in open-air, healthy conditions. In a post-pandemic world, the ability to teach, meet, and work outdoors is more than a luxury - it is a necessity.

Community and Identity
The design team successfully developed Oriente Green Campus to foster a strong sense of place and community through community feedback prior to design. The landscape acts as a social glue that binds different user groups together through a sense of space at varying points. It promotes a fluid, participatory experience of space, where no single user dominates and all are welcome.

It's a place where one can enjoy solitude or engage in social activity and adapt to the rhythms of daily life and seasonal change. This emphasis on comfort, flexibility, and biodiversity gives the campus a unique character. It is not only a place to pass through - it is a place to inhabit.

Looking Forward
Already awarded the "Green Asset Initiative of the Year" by the Iberian Property Awards, Oriente Green Campus sets a new standard for urban rehabilitation. It demonstrates how abandoned, underused spaces can be turned into vibrant, high-performance campuses that prioritize climate resilience, biodiversity, and human health.

The Oriente Green Campus is more than a retrofit project; the space acts as a living example of how we can reclaim the city with care, creativity, and purpose. In a time of environmental urgency and urban transformation, it represents Lisbon's new benchmark for sustainable urban regeneration, and a model for cities worldwide striving to integrate landscape, architecture, and community into a cohesive whole.