 On 22 August 2006, the "Direção Regional de Cultura de Lisboa" (DRC Lisboa) incorporated the building in the Special Protection Zone that included the Pombaline downtown area, as well as the Castle of São Jorge, its walls and surrounding buildings.The "Conselho Nacional de Cultura" (National Council for Culture) proposed that the Special Protection Zone should be archived on 10 October 2011, and on 18 October asked the director of the "Instituto de Gestão do Património Arquitectónico e Arqueológico" (IGESPAR) to define a new Special Protection Zone.In June 2012, the Casa dos Bicos became the head office of the José Saramago Foundation, whose statutes were updated to reflect its new status as a public foundation, by an agreement with the Lisbon city council.