Os bairros do paternalismo industrial. O caso do Vale do Ave. (1900-1974)

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the analysis of the development of new forms of housing focused on the working classes. Instigated by the Industrial Revolution, from the second half of the eighteenth century onwards a new set of demands created change in societal organisation as well as the labour and economic dynamics in cities. The emergence of new urban centres and their uncontrolled growth, created by the displacement of large masses of population from rural to industrialised contexts, led to a high demand for housing. One of the major consequences of this demand was the deterioration of the living conditions of the working classes. This, in turn, led to the creation of the reformist movement of the nineteenth century; due to the threat to public health which it represented. Through this movement, based mainly on hygiene, important transformations were introduced in the urban structure and in the architecture of the house itself, leaving its indelible mark on the the process of diffusion of the decent housing. This study, through consultation of work processes and frequent visits to the site, focuses on the analysis of the processes of formulation and construction of worker housing in the Vale do Ave. These sites were promoted in paternalistic initiatives by industrialists in the region or by private initiatives. One seeks to understand how changes in the organisation of a new urban structure, in which the factory assumes a preponderant role, influenced the architecture of the house. The premise of economy, combined with healthiness and comfort, as well as the introduction of regulations in the design of the domestic space, would radically alter the way of thinking about the architecture of the home. These are the result of an awareness that encompasses several scales: the house (both the single or multi-family option) and the city, the private and the public space as well as the individual, the family and the community. These were important themes in the debate that sought new solutions to the problem of access to housing and laid the foundations for which the diffusion of decent housing could be made possible.