CascaisVilla Shopping Centre, also known as the “Titanic”, hasn’t escaped the municipality’s urban regeneration plans — demolition began this Tuesday, April 8th. According to the local council’s website, “this was a demolition long desired by much of the Cascais population.” Opened in 2001 and located at the eastern entrance to the town, the space will give way to a new development designed by award-winning architect Norman Foster.
The demolition is part of a project first announced in 2022. This area of the town has already seen changes, including the creation of the new Cascais Bus Terminal, which has been operating since July 2024.
British architect Norman Foster, winner of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1999, is behind the design, which promises a mixed-use residential and commercial zone built using recycled materials. The project is expected to be fully completed by 2028.
A back-door entrance
In an interview with Time Out Cascais in July 2023, Mayor Carlos Carreiras spoke about the redevelopment:
“Someone once told me that the problem with Cascais was that we used to enter it from the back — because it just wasn’t pretty,” he said. “We’ve already completed the first phase of the redevelopment, and now comes the closure and demolition of CascaisVilla. I’ve seen the project — it’s absolutely extraordinary. The idea is that we’ll enter through greenery, always flanked by nature. On the other side of the CascaisVilla site, we’re also going to intervene in that long-abandoned plot. We believe that from now on, Cascais won’t be entered through the back door anymore, but through the front entrance — with full pomp and circumstance, and rooted in values that matter to us, especially urban greenery, which is crucial for many reasons, including the growing problem of excessive heat.”