A Ruína, uma Circunstância Programática: Intervenção no Convento de São Francisco do Monte em Viana do Castelo

Abstract

The present dissertation arises from a personal fascination with ruins and seeks to understand its role in contemporary times. In order to pursue a theoretical-practical dissertation, which allows the proposal to become closer to a realistic context, it's proposed an intervention in the Convent of São Francisco do Monte, located on the urban boundary of Viana do Castelo. The choice of a concrete work object allows to establish a starting point for the exploration of an architecture where ruin appears as the protagonist. The intervention presented here intends to reflect about the memory of the space while seeking to develop a proposal capable of evoking and enhancing the character of the convent and, also, to explore the limits of a new use, in a place that no longer serves its initial purpose but, nevertheless, it's still alive and maintains a strong relationship with the population. Thus, the intention to evoke the memory of the convent will seek to establish itself through an proposal capable of highlighting a spiritual dimension and communion with nature. Taking into account the complex nature of an intervention in historic buildings, the study will seek to address two issues: what is the degree of intervention in the ruin when we want it to be the protagonistl, and how to build an extended program capable of recognizing these same properties. To this end, a narrative is constructed and divided into three moments - place, program, intervention - which primarily reflects the circumstances that shape the place and, therefore, the values and wills underlying the construction of a new utility and route in the conventual complex. In a final moment, the dissertation work will seek to translate theoretical questions into a project practice by establishing, through form and design, a response to the various times - present, past and future - and also to the various scales of the territory.