ARCHQUISITION: Urban

For my second post I've decided to write about a space I serendipitously found: the Praça de Lisboa or also known as the Passeio Dos Clerigos

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

Architects: Balonas & Menano Architects
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 the 1990s, the area had become an open square with peripheral galleries and commercial spaces known as the Clerigos Shopping. The center did not have much success and it was permanently closed in 2006.
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

As a response to the city's 2007 competition and inspired by a graffitti on the demolished Praça-The "No Rules, Great Spot" was an international competition started by the collective Esta é a minha cidade? [This is my city?] in order to get citizens and local architects more involved in the debate surrounding the space. The competition brief explains that "it pretend[ed] to make the urban rehabiliation project more informed and shared, participative and discussed". The project competition reflects a what I believe to be a"right to the city" approach (coined and described by Lefebvre in 1968).

architecturelab.net

While plans for the space were already in process, the idea of the city forming its own competition despite the ongoing work of the clients I believe is something that should be more than encouraged in every process that involves a city's public space. It's not completely clear to me if the final design involved the work from the competition but nevertheless it's a step in the right direction.

Drawing:Balonas and Menano Architects

The architects of the project, Balonas and Menano, state that the project was meant to
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

Passeio dos Clérigos: a commercial space of 10 shops connecting to the Lello Bookstore and Clerigos Tower. The Passeio (passage) is a walkway that cuts through the building, holding up the roof garden, and creating the two principle commercial masses within the structure.

Photo Cred:KJ Arciniega

Notice the man sitting by the window
Photo Cred:Pedro do Canto Brum

Photo Cred:Diogo Duque

The Passeio also has room for sitting as well as space for afternoon public concerts and shows.

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

The new parking lot surpasses the previously exisiting parking area by semi submerging it and improving both the pedestrian and automobile circulation.

Photo Cred:Pedro Alves

Photo Cred:KJ Arciniega

The structure is composed of prefabricated concrete components and the façade of white structural members which also provide shading for the commercial space. The commercial enterprise is in charge of paying for the maintenance of the place, cleaning/pruning trees and any other necessary arrangements, while the city pays for public lighting and water costs (irrigation of the park).

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.