Photo Cred: KJ Arciniega |
I'll begin by telling you that I stumbled upon this place on New Year's Eve when I was supposed to be spending the New Year and the following two days in Belgium; as my wonderful fate would have it, I had to make a sudden change of plans (confession: I forgot my passport). After realizing I would not be travelling out of Porto's Airport, I decided to go into the city to explore it once again. I had previously spent a November day with my roommate in Porto . It had been a long and rainy day so I had one other opporunity to see Porto in its holiday glory (and with little rain). I walked around the downtown area and headed towards the Livraria Lello (the one featured in the Harry Potter films) but what immediately caught my attention was the second floor park across the street: the Praça de Lisboa.
Photo Cred:KJ Arciniega |
Location:Porto, Portugal
Clients: Urbanclerigos
Inaugurated: Nov 15 2013
[[Ithe first time I visited Porto, the Praça had not yet been opene, a fact I wouldn't discover until I researched the project and wondered if the heavy rain during my first visit had distracted me from it.]]
The Praça's site was once the location of the Mercado de Anjo (1839-1952) pictured below:
monumentosdesaparecidos.blogspot.com |
In 2007, the city decided to put forth a very exclusive competition, disconcerting citizens and local architects. The site had long been considered a fundamental transition space for the city. It is situated between Porto's picturesque medieval city and the grand public beaux arts projects of the 18th and 19th century bourgeois city (i.e. Torre dos Clerigos, Cadeia da Relaçao, Reiteria da Universidade do Porto & Marques da Silva's works).
Photo Cred:KJ Arciniega |
monumentosdesaparecidos.blogspot.com |
architecturelab.net |
Drawing:Balonas and Menano Architects |
a-revitalize the detoriating and problematic square
b- take into account the topographical curves from the various inclinations of the site
c-extend the urban landscape by using three layers of program.
They describe their objective as a square/public space that would "adopt an open shape to the city drawing pedestrians, losing interiority and ensuring an appealing relation to the surrounding".
Photo Cred:KJ Arciniega |
The project was a 6 million Euro investment measuring 2,000 m².
Program:
Roof-
Balonas and Menano Architects |
Jardum das Oliveiras: a green roof with 50 locally derived Olive trees is meant to recreate the Porta do Olival Gate (once the entry to the city). The" Olive Tree Garden" (literal translation) features a statue of Dom Antonio Ferreira Gomez by Arlindo Rocha. Gomes is an important Portuguese figure against the fascist regime in Portugal and Catholic Bishop.
portopatrimoniomunicipal.com |
Photo Creds:Pedro do Canto Brum |
Ground Floor-
Photo Cred: Pedro do Canto Brum |
Photo Cred:KJ Arciniega |
Photo Cred:KJ Arciniega |
Photo Cred:KJ Arciniega |
Notice the man sitting by the window Photo Cred:Pedro do Canto Brum |
Photo Cred:Diogo Duque |
Architizer describes this (photo) as the "point of spatial tension at the tallest point". The Passeio's website describes it as more than a "mere commercial space" and an "example of Urban Renewal: the new commercial street".
Lower Level: Parking lot with some Pedestrian Areas
Drawing:Balonas and Menano Architects |
Photo Cred:Pedro Alves |
Photo Cred:KJ Arciniega |
Photo Creds:KJ Arciniega |
The project is very new so I am curious to know how the space develops. Spaces are many times imagined and then they are written about through the eyes of expectation rather than reality. I really love the concept and I think it fits very subtly and elegantly in the space, so much so that I thought it had been there since the first time I visited. Since this space has been a bit controversial for Porto's citizens, I would be curious to know how the space will develop once summer rolls around and even more tourists start to invade the city. The commercial space itself contains some big international shops and cafes. I think it would be an even more interesting space if it could incorporate the local businesses of Porto much like it once did when it stood as a market. The project has already been nominated in the Urban Intervention Awards of Berlin 2013.
monumentosdesaparecidos.blogspot.com |
Below are some elevations and sections of the projects by Balonas and Menano.
So what are your thoughts?
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