Lugar Comum: habitar (n)a cidade do Porto. Princípios de intervenção para uma área de habitação municipal

Abstract

'Lugar Comum: habitar (n)a cidade do Porto' is an exercise of observation and interpretation through mapping and critical analysis, focusing on the qualities of densification as a modus operandi in an area which is already inhabited and part of a major public housing settlement. The design competition for affordable housing and urban regeneration of a designated public area in Lordelo do Ouro creates the opportunity to further develop the strategy for intervention as one which articulates social and urban continuity and co-existence. The aim is to develop an understanding of the possibilities to intervene in order to integrate and become integrated without enhancing urban discrepancies. The idea is to work towards the re-balancing of urban functions by taking advantage of the inextricable qualities of the place. The proposed strategy follows a careful densification of a selection of places within the wider housing settlement, aiming at clarifying and completing the functions associated with dwelling. This is the new territory, the Common Place in which we are to intervene: one that is established in the articulation between public space, built environment and social milieu.