Marvila 8 was launched Praça David Leandro da Silva 8, in September 2023.
Sociedade Comercial Abel Pereira da Fonseca, Praça David Leandro da Silva 8, in 1923. Source.
Factory Lisbon | Beato Innovation District. Duro da Matar, Third-Wave Mexican Taqueria.
Coletivo Gira. Female collective of samba, Clube Oriental de Samba, Praça David Leandro da Silva.
Are you an independent worker, an aristocrat, an underdog, a barbershop owner, a unicorn, a DJ, a filmmaker, a collective, or a wine trader? It doesn’t matter. Each of you holds a piece of Beato-Marvila — past and present.
The hardwired aristocracy that once shaped the Palácio dos Duques de Lafões, also known as Palácio do Grilo, has evolved into a ‘surrealist dinner theater,’ performed by local artists. Portuguese who played there as children might feel a slice of their history slipping away, while others celebrate the cheeky transformation.
Take a 20-minute walk from the Beato Innovation District and Palácio do Grilo to the far end of Marvila, traveling through Rua do Grilo, Rua do Beato, Rua do Açúcar, and Rua Fernando Palha. There stop at the iconic Underdogs Gallery. On the way back, take Rua da Marvila and see how past and present converge into a vision of future urban life.
In legacy and relevance, Beato-Marvila has always bridged aristocracy, hardworking communities, and underdogs. Here, blue-collar grit meets blue-blood nobility meets avant-garde flair, grounding a unique blend of art, commerce, creativity, attitude, and pragmatism.
Factory Lisbon at Beato Innovation District, Avenida Infante Dom Henrique 143, Lisbon.
Wine storage and trade scenery —early 20th century in Beato-Marvila. Source.
Meanwhile, this part of town has pioneered a new economic model. Too far east to be overtaken by short-stay tourism, it’s become a haven for creative entrepreneurship across the arts, tech, and hospitality sectors — a place for innovation and experimentation.
Meanwhile, this part of town has pioneered a new economic model. Too far east to be overtaken by short-stay tourism, it’s become a haven for creative entrepreneurship across the arts, tech, and hospitality sectors — a place for innovation and experimentation.
East Lisbon — a little brother to London’s East End — champions sustainable living, art, technology, immersive experiences, and architectural transformation that celebrates local craftsmanship. Behind the walls of converted factories and communal spaces, independent enterprises form new grids and templates.
Beato-Marvila is never quite what you expect, even if you were just here. Things shift constantly; venues disappear, move, or re-emerge in new forms or a new street corner at the speed of light. Who wouldn’t want to invest and claim a piece of this scene?
While international brands, homeowners, and A-list architecture firms have entered the scene, the independent spirit is alive and bold. Live art installations, fusion dining on Dada-inspired stages, and DJ sets create a joyful cacophony from venue to venue when comes Thursday.
Beato-Marvila has a distinctive city-planning layout — almost like an archipelago of creative clusters along the Tagus River:
Beato Innovation District is one massive island fostering unicorns with fun food and drink perks: Praça, for Portuguese flavors, the Mexican avant-garde DDM (Duro da Matar) taqueria, which lights up the night in red neon, and the usual beer garden.
Praça David Leandro da Silva combines art, sport, and commerce. Home to 8 Marvila, Paloma Taqueria, 'Ah, Amália' an immersive experience to discover Fado Queen Amália Rodrigues, and Nave’s paddle tennis courts. Across the square, the historical Clube Oriental de Lisboa established in 1946, now vibrates with samba beats by Coletivo Gira ‘Samba, Diversity, Resistance’, a feminist samba collective.
Braço de Prata pulses with local warmth and diversity in communities thanks to Fábrica Braço de Prata and Underdogs Gallery. A contrast to the late artificial village Jardins de Braço Prato, regimented by A-List Italian architect Renzo Piano. Learn more here.
R. Cap. Leitão is a closed loop and creative enclave between Rua do Açúcar (south) and Rua da Marvila (north), where galleries, bars, and studios gather. Look up Francisco Fino Gallery to locate the area.
Francisco Fino Gallery, Rua Cap. Leitão since 2017. Installation view of 'Em Frente da Porta'.
Francisco Fino started as a "vagabond curator," embracing the mobility and spirit of contemporary art across Lisbon. In 2017, he settled his caravan in Beato, offering his artists one of Lisbon’s most thought-provoking and art spaces committed to timely contemporary art cartography and aesthetics — a place for dialogue among artists, curators, art agents, and visitors.
In each of these ‘islands’, you’ll feel the dynamic energy of collective creativity and individual points of view.
In the Beato Innovation District, Factory Lisbon offers a 12,000 m² campus for tech companies along Lisbon's riverfront. It’s a house for unicorns and ScalingUp, Portugal’s first startup acceleration program. It thrives as a sustainable business model by renting venues for forward-thinking events.
This is where #TribecaFestival held its first Lisbon edition last October, where #SonarLisboa launched #SonarTalks and live performances in 2022, and where #ethicalassembly recently hosted its summit on Climate & Social Justice. If you’re drawn to conversations about storytelling, sustainable innovation, or ethical business models, and #criticalsoftware, you’ll feel at home here.
Sónar Lisboa, live music and visual arts. Sonic installation Nati Infiniti by Alessandro Cortini.
Tribeca Festival in Beato in Fall 2024. The festival was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in NYC in 2002.
Like neighborhoods such as Hackney in London in the early 2010s, Williamsburg in Brooklyn in the early 2000s, Beato-Marvila attracts people with entrepreneurial drive and a need for easy access to and from the city. Beato-Marvila is ideally located in that regard.
Just a 10-minute drive from the airport, the area is served by the Braço de Prata train station, Bela Vista Station on the Metro red line, and the popular 728 bus that runs along the Tagus River, linking Marvila to Santos. Additional bus lines include 718, 749, 755, 782, and 793, and there’s a bike lane that extends all the way to the city center.
The area draws people who enjoy living, working, and creating in self-contained spaces — much like mussels thrive in their preferred ocean environment. These are people who work long hours and value minimizing travel to maximize productivity. Beato-Marvila is designed for that lifestyle.
Then there are those attracted to this scene, moving in to enjoy the wealth of art galleries, live music, dining experiences, and the thrill of creativity escaping the studios, a call for imagination to be left loose by ricochet.
Finally, a growing group of residents embraces sustainable living, helping establish Marvila as a promising site for future-focused property investment.
Beato Convent Events Centre by RISCO in Lisbon.
Sustainability and innovation are becoming pillars of Portugal's property market.
This shift is visible across both urban and rural sites, where eco-friendly properties represent a growing investment trend grounded in environmental awareness.
Demand is emerging in diverse sectors — from student housing and senior living to healthcare and agribusiness — all reflecting societal changes and evolving economic trends.
Reconverted industrial sites, transformed into professional and private properties, offer flexibility for rethinking internal and external circulation with fewer constraints and an emphasis on sustainable materials.
According to Portugal Property Market Outlook 2024, these sectors show “significant growth potential, driven by demographic changes and a heightened awareness of sustainability issues.” Encouragingly, this trend is fueled not only by investor demand but also by regulatory changes, as the Portuguese government implements stricter environmental standards for buildings.
This outlines a future where investing in Portugal offers not only financial returns but also positive environmental impact, ensuring well-being for generations to come.
Beato Innovation District: Lisbon's Hub of Innovation
Once a post-industrial wasteland, the Beato Innovation District has transformed into a hub of economic vitality. From riding donkeys to hosting unicorns, let’s fast-forward to find out how this was even possible.
The economic framework was essential. Lisbon Factory hosts over 1,000 jobs and more than 15 organizations spanning innovation, creativity, education, and gastronomy including a non-exhaustive list of companies:
Claranet, WebSummit, MicroHarvest, SIXT, Interactive Technologies Institute, Carnegie Mellon University Portugal, Inetum, Midwich, GWEC, FoodRiders, The Royal Rawness, 42 Lisboa, and TUMO Lisboa. Find out more: Unicorn: The Epicenter of Innovation. Lisbon’s Tech Startups of 2024 to Follow.
DDM | DuroDeMatar (Hard to Kill) —Third-Wave Mexican Taqueria in the Beato Innovation District.
Where Hot Sauce Meets Stunning DJ Lineups.
On site, these two cantinas keeps crowds within and beyond Lisbon Factory happy!
Wide and elegant Praça at the entrance features a restaurant, bar, and delicatessen of Portuguese gastronomy with a selection of wine, olive oil, and condiments.
Walk past Praça and turn left.
DDM aka DuroDeMatar (Hard to Kill), a Third-Wave Mexican Taqueria, will get your head spin at the DJ lineup for November alone. “November is puro amor” —says one of their IG posts. Believe it, they are the best in the genre.
Here Latin gastro rims with raw architecture, moody red neon, and dining live nightlife experience. What makes it rare? Its spirit of mastery in Avant Guard food and live music experience. Or, as they put it, “Old World Hospitality Meets Nerdy Shit!” as in as make making things from scratch, from Web3 to hot sauce. The radio on the back of the restaurant is now a dedicated online platform: esr.li and celebrates six years of existence. A red line tells you what’s playing live. DDM rethink the fields of Culinary, Design, Tech, into social art and collective experience with two decades in Lisbon for the well-established Mexican Italian duo turning the tables.
Marvila neighborhood. Rua do Vale Formoso, 128, late 19th century. Source.
Beato Innovation District —Private event at Praça, 2024.
From industrial stamina to unicorn brain juice. If you wonder how Beato-Marvila transformed from a rural area, where convents and men on donkeys passed by walled palaces reserved for Portuguese nobility, to a rapidly evolving industrial landscape in the early 20th century, here are some landmarks that marked its post-monarchy transformation.
First came the light. The construction of the Matinha gas plant and its organized production process marked a new era in gas consumption in Lisbon, following the relocation of the gas plant from Belém to the city’s eastern edge. Inaugurated in 1944, the company changed hands in 1957, marking the end of coal-based gas production.
Gas Meters. Matinha Gas Factory. Launch in 1944. Breakdance at festival IMINENTE, 2022.
This industrial landmark later became the backdrop for Iminente, the music festival founded by artist and producer Alexandre Farto, aka Vhils. Known for transforming industrial wastelands, Vhils set the outdoor stages and breakdances against this iconic architecture.
Vhils himself is now a monument of the area. Born in 1987, Alexandre ‘Vhils’ Farto developed a unique signature style as a street artist, using unconventional tools to carve layered surfaces of walls. His art engages urban environments, with marks and curatorial projects spanning from Marvila to Seixal, Almada to Barreiro.
How and Nosm (Raoul and Davide Perre). The twin brothers are known for their large-scale urban murals that adorn countless city walls around the world. Browse through Underdogs' roaster of artists.
Alexandre Farto aka Vhils by Lauren Cowart — All rights reserved.
Today, Underdogs is much more than a gallery on the ground of a former military factory owned by the Portuguese state until the 1990s. From Braço de Prata (FBP), it has turned into a cultural platform with octopus’ arms showcasing live music events (often free), art exhibitions, public art programs, and commissioned artworks. Importantly, and since 2010, Underdogs has given voice and visibility to a lineup of Portuguese and international artists, embodying the essence of urban and street art: irreverence, diversity, and activism.
Trading spaces in the era of Abel Pereira da Fonseca, José Domingos Barreiros, Jose Quaresma. Source.
Beato-Marvila was designed for entertainment! Lights ON! Then Came the Wine.
The architectural landmarks around David Leandro da Silva Square tell the story of Marvila’s industrial prosperity. These architectural flagships have become the epicenter of Marvila today, spinning new ripples of social interactions.
At one end is the Casa José Domingos Barreiros, a baroque building named after its founder, a successful wine merchant. In the early 20th century, the company expanded with warehouses connected by a railway system and private wagons. By 1922, it was showcasing its wines internationally, including at Rio de Janeiro’s International Exhibition.
Val do Rio Warehouses. Founded by Jose Quaresma Val do Rio (1812-1896) & Sons. Source.
Across the square stands the Abel Pereira da Fonseca building, founded in 1906 by a visionary entrepreneur known for his innovative spirit. Abel built a wine empire that included estates in Bombarral and extensive warehouses near Marvila’s riverfront, playing a central role in Lisbon’s wine trade until 1993.
Since 2017, the former industrial zones of Poço do Bispo and the Abel Pereira da Fonseca warehouses have undergone major restorations. Now part of what is coined East Lisbon, these spaces are reborn as interactive social hubs where culture and commerce blend with cocktail bars, art spaces, and paddle tennis courts. Opened in stages, 8 Marvila has rapidly become a hotspot for locals and visitors, with steady streams of Bolt and Uber rides from Thursdays to Sundays.
MAD – Marvila Art District and below, Marvila 8 under construction.
The 8 Marvila Project: A Hub of Innovation and Sustainability
Spanning 22,000 square meters, the 8 Marvila Project has preserved the historic façade of the Sociedade Abel Pereira da Fonseca, with a commitment to recycling and sustainability. Nearly half of the original rubble, wood, iron, sheet metal, and even cabinetry from the old warehouses was repurposed.
José Filipe Rebelo Pinto, the founding curator of 8 Marvila and the mind behind OutJazz, envisioned this space as a self-contained community hub, with five distinct warehouses (ah Amália, nave padel, outra cena, those who dance, ZDB) housing a diverse range of residents ranging from arts, events, food & Drinks:
Shops and Art: Anomaly / Because Art Matters / Black Mamba / cuba 160 / Elisa Rezende / Luísa Pereira da Fonseca / Marshall / Napo Runa / Planta Livre / RO Archive / The Cosmic Collective / the Lisbon Frame
Food and Drinks: 150 Gramas / À Boca do Mato / Mato / Oficina Craft Snackery / Scoop & Dough / SUGOI / Taqueria Paloma
Cultivating Independent Lisbon in Tech-Driven East Lisbon
A capital city thrives when it captures the spirit of its epoch <into a momentum> <into an elixir> that everyone wants to taste / share / be part of. This alchemy is subtle. It blends out of a tacit collective mindset of progress where innovation, systems, cultures, lifestyles, and nightlife are mixed, seamlessly integrating local talent with international expertise in a constant, fluid flow. While terms like "expats" or "digital nomads" may still carry a hint of separation elsewhere, in East Lisbon, these notions fade into irrelevance. Here, what sticks is what’s sustainable, meaningful, thought-provoking with a beat. A simple equation. Watch video on East Lisbon | Beato-Marvila
Expats or digital nomads? Davidova Iryna from Ukraine (left) and her friend both live in Lisbon.
WebSummit2024 first evening. Work colleagues from Azerbaijan and Ukraine share drinks at TimeOut.
Property Highlight. Rua da Marvila. The yellow house is a domain of 618m2, for €1294 the price per m2, and €800,000 on the current market. For ambitious dreamers fond of renovation projects.
Rua da Marvila at Twilight. March 2024.
Mojo Real Estate Solutions is an international team of experts based in Lisbon since 2015.
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