Aurore Monteil - 4A STUDIO
© Aurore Monteil - 4A STUDIO

AZULÉJOS / CATALOGUE

Tile’s vision and potential

C A T A L O G U E 2 0 2 5

Tile’s vision and potential

ABOUT

This catalogue is a collection of propositions revealing the infinite potential of tiles. By integrating my drawings and paintings into architectural and design contexts through photomontages, I seek to reveal what azulejos can become today with my aesthetic and visions. Each image is a vision of how azulejos can be reimagined—integrated into architecture, transformed into furniture, or expanded into large-scale frescoes that resonate with space and light.


Far from the cliché of repetitive bathroom tiles, azulejos hold infinite potential: monumental frescoes that sublimate architecture, wall paintings that shift with light throughout the day, furniture transformed into vibrant pieces of art, and immersive spaces where matter resonates with energy. More than surface or ornament, azulejos become a living material, capable of reflecting energy, frequency, and presence. 

Here I bring my drawings and paintings into dialogue with architecture, showing how this medium can still educate, inspire, and transform the way we inhabit our environments.


Rooted in heritage, every image in this catalogue is a proposition, an invitation to imagine new ways of inhabiting. My vision is nourished by architecture, painting, performance, and craftsmanship, all converging into a contemporary language of azulejos—an art of vibration, harmony, and timeless presence.


Commission : Contact me to discuss your tile's project, to acquire an artwork, or for more information at 4astudio.contact@gmail.com / +33(0)680142485

Tiles by Aurore Monteil

H E R I T A G E

The role and the responsibility of the architect in the use and promotion of azulejos in the 21st century.

ABOUT

This passion developed out of this craftsmanship, that has been largely neglected, led me to make it the subject of my master’s research thesis in architecture.


The artists and craftsmen, by ensuring the transmission of the know-how specific to azulejos, have perpetuated the vitality of this traditional art in the writing of our time. However, the craft is threatened with disappearance due to the country’s socio-economic and political difficulties, and due to a lack of awareness of the importance of preserving its cultural heritage.


Indeed, considering the historical analysis of the art of azulejos, the understanding of its strong identity-characteristic of Portuguese culture, and the inseparability between azulejos and architecture in Portugal, the question arises as to what particular role the architect can play in the safeguarding, perpetuation, and evolution of the heritage.


However, after extensive research, it appears that the architectural profession in Portugal is not subject to any explicit legal or regulatory obligations regarding the use of azulejos in the design of new architectural projects. After reading the oath of Portuguese architects, it would thus be perfectly legitimate for them to play a role in the preservation of the art of azulejos and could go even further to become a true promoter of it. Indeed, it seems to us that the use of azulejos in an architectural project could be an additional means for the architect to naturally fulfill their commitment, especially in light of the new challenges posed by sustainable development, which humanity can no longer ignore today. More than ever, architects have a major role to play in contributing to a more just and humane society in the design of their projects.


AZULEJOS, AN ARCHITECTURAL 

CLADDING CONSTITUTING THE IDENTITY OF A NATION


THE ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ARCHITECT IN THE USE AND PROMOTION OF AZULEJOS IN THE 21ST CENTURY


Master’s research thesis in architecture

ENSAPVS, 2022-2023

Research Director : Sandra Parvu


Contributors : Tile's national museum of lisbon, SOS Azulejos, AzLab, Creazul Studio, Lisbon City Hall. 


Details : Book, 21,5x30 cm format, 180 pages. 

Full version : click here


Quinta Portuguese – 18th century tiles

From the grand narratives of the 17th century to the large-scale compositions of the 20th century, azulejos have always revealed their true power in architecture. The cobalt blue that defines their history does more than decorate—it expands volumes, guides perception, and anchors memory in space.


These monumental frescoes demonstrate that azulejos are not simply surface, but a profoundly architectural art. They frame walls, embrace structures, and transform environments into resonant fields where the human body moves, contemplates, and belongs.

Monumental azulejo frescoes from the 17th and 20th centuries, where cobalt blue expands architecture and reveals space as a living narrative.


S C A L E

Dialogues : Tiles – Architecture – Contemporary Art

ABOUT

Here, azulejos reveal their architectural power. No longer confined to ornament or repetition, they become expansive frescoes that transform walls into vibrant fields of energy. Each surface extends beyond its materiality, shaping volumes, guiding movement, and amplifying the resonance of space.


Through these photomontages with my drawings and hand painted tiles, I imagine how azulejos can sublimate space at different scales : from monumental walls in public spaces to contemplative niches in intimate interiors. The tile, multiplied and composed, acts as both frame and vibration, inviting the body to inhabit architecture differently.


This vision affirms azulejos as a contemporary medium capable of dialogue with modern design, heritage, and human presence. It is where matter, color, and rhythm converge to create immersive environments—spaces that are not only seen, but felt.

Tiles by Aurore Monteil

Tiles by Aurore Monteil

Drawing by Aurore Monteil

Tiles by Aurore Monteil


"The palette I employ is guided by meditation, by visions that appear in states of contemplation.These hues are not chosen, they are revealed—frequencies that connect matter, body, and spirit.

Through chromatherapy, I see color as healing. Through material alchemy, I feel its power to transform space. Through azulejo, color becomes more than image: it becomes presence, vibration, and light."



Drawing by Aurore Monteil

Drawing by Aurore Monteil


“From the grand scale to the scale of a single step, azulejos guide the body through space.

Each tile marks both movement and pause—an architecture of rhythm where walking becomes contemplation.

In this dialogue, azulejos are no longer static surfaces but living thresholds, shaping the journey as much as the destination.”



Tiles by Aurore Monteil


F R E Q U E N C Y O F M A T T E R

Dialogues : Tiles – Frame – Contemporary Art

ABOUT

When framed, azulejos transcend their architectural origin to become living paintings. No longer bound to walls, they breathe as autonomous works of art—unique, unrepeatable, and constantly shifting with the light.


Each piece embodies the alchemy of glaze and fire, where color emerges not as a fixed image but as vibration. Morning, noon, and dusk reveal new depths: reflections, textures, and shadows that make the surface alive.


Here, azulejos affirm their place in contemporary art, as works that bridge painting and matter, tradition and experimentation. A framed tile composition is not static—it is a resonant presence captured in matter, always in dialogue with the space and the body that encounters it.

Tiles by Aurore Monteil

Tiles by Aurore Monteil

Drawing by Aurore Monteil


“When azulejos escape the rectangle, they become fragments of rhythm, sculptural presences that dialogue with the wall itself. They are no longer confined images but shapes in motion—echoes of architecture".


Drawing by Aurore Monteil

Drawing by Aurore Monteil


“Each curve, each cut transforms the tile into a sculptural gesture. Here, azulejos unfold like a constellation—modular, organic, and alive—inviting the eye and the body to imagine new ways of inhabiting space.”


Drawing by Aurore Monteil

Tiles by Aurore Monteil

D E S I G N

Dialogues : Tiles – Art Furniture – Contemporary Art

ABOUT

Here, azulejos leave the wall and inhabit objects. Tables, consoles, and furniture become more than functional: they transform into singular works of art, signed and unique. Each piece is conceived as a living surface, where ceramic, form, and color vibrate together.


Far from serial production, these creations are one-of-a-kind. They are not designed to be repeated, but to embody a specific dialogue between matter, space, and the person who inhabits it. The azulejo becomes both skin and soul of the object—an energetic presence that grounds and elevates interiors.


Through these proposals, I imagine furniture as an extension of architecture and painting: a place where body and matter meet. Each piece invites touch, reflection, and resonance. It is design as vibration, where the everyday is transfigured into timeless art.

Seating as contemplation


Tiles by Aurore Monteil

Tiles by Aurore Monteil

Drawing by Aurore Monteil

The Shelf-Sculpture 


More than a simple support, this piece unfolds as a vertical composition, a totemic presence within the space. Each level is a dialogue: between ceramic surfaces and sculpted forms, between weight and suspension, between order and organic rhythm.


Clad in azulejos, the modules become luminous fragments, anchoring the stone heads while opening the wall to depth and reflection. The shelf no longer serves a function—it becomes a sculptural architecture, a living structure where matter, art, and memory converge.


Tiles by Aurore Monteil

The Screen


The screen is, by essence, an object of threshold: it separates and reveals, it protects and transforms. Here, covered with azulejos, it becomes more than a functional partition: a moving painting, an intimate architecture. Each side reflects light differently, offering the eye a shifting landscape. This object embodies the multiplicity of possibilities, showing how the azulejo can unfold far beyond the wall, as a unique, living work of art.


Drawing by Aurore Monteil

The Table – Gathering


Drawing by Aurore Monteil

Tiles by Aurore Monteil

Tiles by Aurore Monteil

Tiles by Aurore Monteil

The Console


Slender and refined, the console acts as a line of force within the space. Clad in azulejos, it becomes radiant, vibratory: a visual and energetic anchor. This piece of furniture, often discreet, transforms into a contemporary sculpture. The azulejo introduces the dimension of painting, turning the console into an autonomous work.



Tiles by Aurore Monteil

Tiles by Aurore Monteil

Drawing by Aurore Monteil

Tiles by Aurore Monteil

Tiles by Aurore Monteil

Drawing by Aurore Monteil

The Reception – counter


A place of passage and encounter, the counter stands as the first point of contact with the space. Dressed in azulejos, it does more than serve: it tells a story, it welcomes, it imprints a visual and tactile memory. It transforms the simple acts of waiting and conversing into an aesthetic and sensorial experience.



Drawing by Aurore Monteil

Tiles by Aurore Monteil

Light as vibration


Light is, by nature, the medium of the azulejo. In sculptural variations of lamps and lighting, it reveals its full power: each tile becomes a crystal, each color expands as frequency. The azulejo then becomes a diffuser, a transmitter of luminous energy. These hybrid objects between art and design create sensitive halos, where matter breathes and radiates.



Tiles by Aurore Monteil

Tiles by Aurore Monteil

T H E S T U D I O

Creazul studio, Caxias – Lisbon, Portugal

Creazul is the place where visions are translated into matter. Located in Caxias, near Lisbon, the studio is led by master ceramist Maria Helena Almeida, a guardian of rare know-how who bridges tradition and contemporary experimentation.


Each tile is shaped, glazed, and fired through centuries-old gestures, while remaining open to new forms of artistic exploration. The studio is a space of dialogue: between fire and glaze, intuition and technique, Portuguese heritage and a contemporary artistic language.


It is here that my projects come to life—monumental frescoes, vibratory paintings, unique design pieces. Every commission is carried out with precision and care, in a process that merges craftsmanship, art, and architecture.


Creazul is not only a place of production, but a living laboratory where matter becomes frequency, color transforms into vibration, and azulejos reveal their timeless power.


Inside Creazul Studio, where fire, glaze, and gesture give birth to each tile—an encounter between heritage and contemporary creation.


“In the studio, each fragment is a promise. Only when I assemble them under the open sky does the work finally reveal itself—as a living whole, shaped by months of fire, patience, and discovery.”

From the 17th century to contemporary art

Tiles by Aurore Monteil