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open azulejos is a public map of Lisbon’s visible ceramic tiles. Each square image is tied to a precise place, so the archive can be read as both a visual collection and a geographic record.
The goal is to document motifs, colours, repairs, damage, and change over time through many small observations made directly in the street.
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If you are in Lisbon with a smartphone, you can document an azulejo for this open-source map right now.
Look for patterns not yet mapped when possible. A repeated observation is still useful: it can record how a tile changes over time.
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For now, photograph one individual tile or the smallest repeating pattern, rather than an entire mural.
Move close enough for the motif and the tile’s edges to remain clearly visible.
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Hold the phone straight, avoid glare and strong shadows, and align the tile’s four corners with the four dots in the camera guide.
Recording currently works for Lisbon street observations. Location metadata is required so each contribution can be moderated and placed on the map.
happy azulejo hunting.
before recording
location permission is required to record an azulejo.
open location settings helpopen azulejos is a conservation research map for documenting the ceramic surface of Lisbon as a distributed public archive. The project treats each photographed tile not as an isolated decorative object, but as evidence within a larger urban fabric: a situated fragment, attached to a facade, a street, a neighbourhood, and a changing condition of care.
The map proposes a fine-grained method for recording azulejos through geographic position, square image capture, and a shared grid. This structure makes it possible to compare patterns, damages, repairs, replacements, and disappearances over time.
As a design research tool, open azulejos asks how civic documentation can support conservation before loss becomes visible only as absence. The interface is intentionally reduced: the map is the working surface, the photograph is the primary unit of evidence, and moderation protects the archive from noise while keeping participation open.
The goal is not to produce a complete inventory at once, but to build an evolving public memory of Lisbon's ceramic landscape. Over time, the archive can support historical analysis, material conservation, pattern study, and local stewardship by making the city readable through its smallest repeatable surfaces.
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For collaborations, university or research enquiries, suggestions for improving the project, or technical troubleshooting, write to orson@openazulejos.com.
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