The construction firm of Francisco de Almada Mendonça was charged with the project, and produced a four-story building with its principal facade decorated with the royal coat-of-arms under an inscription.

On the main facade, of sober design, are four reliefs representing four feelings: Kindness, Pain, Hatred and Love, created by Diogo de Macedo and Sousa Caldas.

[1] On 26 February 1982, the building was designated a Imóvel de Interesse Público (Property of Public Interest), under Decree 28/82 (Diário da República, Série 1, 47).

[1] In addition to general cleaning, the work included the consolidation and restoration of the exterior facades, recuperation of the decorative sculptures, treatment of surfaces in pigmented mortar and the installation of new woods and iron.

[1] During the course of this transition, attempts to reclassify the institution continued; on 22 April 1996, a dispatch by the Vice-President of IPPAR, devolved to the DRPorto its proposal for reformulation.

[1] The rectangular plan is covered in tile roofing, with its principal facade found on one of the two smaller sides, framed laterally by rustic cornerstones and accentuated by capricious urns and garlands.

[1] The "noble floor" with three arches on steeped pilasters is inscribed under columns with broad shafts and Ionian capitals, while the doors of the lodges are topped by interrupted pediments.

[1] Above, the denticulated cord ends at the frieze and the beginning of a strong cornice based on rebound corbels, which are dense, in a repetitive rhythm that runs throughout the building.

[1] On the ground floor, there are 3 arched doorways (topped by a running balcony and supported by 4 consoles), flanked by 2 small doors, with an interrupted curvilinear pediment.

[1] The set is flanked by strong masks, on intermediate floor, on which a window opens at the top, with small gap at the bottom.

[1] On the ground floor, the vestibule occupies the whole width of the building, with access through the 3 doors of the main facade and lateral entranceways.

[1] With its double height, corresponding to the main hall and facade, the interior is profusely decorated along the windows and balustrades, with a wide oculus on the transition doors to the "avant-foyer".