Gaiola (construction)

[1] The catastrophic event of 1755 showed the fragility of the masonry construction, which is not able to absorb and dissipate the energy released by the earthquake.

Downtown Lisbon was heavily damaged and, in anticipation of similar catastrophe, a new construction method was developed.

The entire downtown was razed to make way for a rebuilding initiative, which was centered on the gaiola pombalina system.

[2] The term gaiola meant "cage" and was named after the Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, the first Marquis of Pombal.

The gaiola pombalina building features a traditional timber flooring and a hybrid timber-masonry shear walls.

Model of the seismically protective wooden structure, the "gaiola pombalina" (pombaline cage), developed for the reconstruction of Lisbon
An interior view of a constructed gaiola structure.
View of Gaiola at Arquivo Histórico Municipal in Vila Real do Santo António, Algarve, Portugal. The original exposed beams are from very hard wood.