O balneum de Lafões. O sentido da ruína como matéria de projeto

Abstract

The main goal of the present dissertation is a hypothetical interpretation and re-construction of the two construction phases of the roman baths of São Pedro do Sul, taking as a starting point the approach established by the architect João Mendes Ribeiro, at this building. This monument, of roman foundation, constitutes, by itself, an infinitude of possible themes to explore, of which we focus on two fundamental: the foundation moment and (re)construction of the roman bath and the latest intervention at the set built- the valorization, conservation and rehabilitation project. The first part- Matter of project- frames the study case, in a first approach to its space and relation with the site and unbridles the base questions of the morphology of the place and the environment where it fits, tracing the chronological line of the historical moments which made it the complex structure from the early twenty-first century. On the other hand, it establishes its relation to the close aggregation, with the ways and water structural presence- at the thermal water source and Vouga River. In the second part- The ruins sense - we cross the recent archeological data, with its bases exposed by the archeologist Helena Frade, and we build a practical exercise, of project. Through the association of each roman chronological element to one of the construction phases of the primitive bathhouse and the conjugation with the canonical unit of measure from the roman empire- o pes monetalis- it becomes plausible to prosecute the hypothetical interpretation and reconstruction of the traces from the two roman bathhouse phases and, to the second phase, also the hypothetical reconstruction of its tridimensional dimension. From this exercise, unprecedented to date, as investigated, we identified relation between the urban contemporary trace and the primitive cluster. The third part- Connect the fragments - we we approach the conservation, valorization and rehabilitation project of the roman baths of São Pedro do Sul, to critically reflect both on the intentions of project and executed intervention. We explore from the outside to the inside, following the process that the contemporary user will be directed to do, as a visitant, being able to identify historical moments since the present days to the roman foundation.