Requalificação de um território no Douro. Reflexão a partir de uma proposta desenvolvida em estágio

Abstract

The present dissertation, "Requalification of a territory in the Douro: Reflection of a project developed in an internship" arises from the desire to expose a project developed during an internship at the Barbosa & Guimarães studio. The curricular internship is a necessary experience in the intellectual development of a future architect that, modestly, symbolizes the first interaction with the professional career. A transition that strengthens the personal character, moving from an academic and conceptual practice to a real practice, where the formation acquired helps to overcome the proposed challenges. In this way, the theme of this dissertation is based on reflecting on this internship experience and investigating the processes and methods of developing an architecture project. Furthermore, it intends to reflect on the context, circumstances, and program in which the practical case, Blend in Douro, is inserted, where the Douro region is the scenario. The monoculture of wine and the transformation of this territory have led to the disappearance of certain values and reached into question the collective identity of the place, which determined the idea of the project. Thus, the practical case by the studio Barbosa & Guimarães intends to requalify a de-characterized space in the Douro landscape, close to the city of Peso da Régua. The proposal aims to transform this distorted space into a tourist development that respects and preserves the material and immaterial heritage of the region, a strategy in which architecture is determined to find an identity that moves a balance between the past and the present. It should be relevant that this intervention regards the qualification of cultural landscape awarded by UNESCO in 2001. About the process that involves the practical case, a set of questions was explored and reflected on, namely, the diverse identities, systems, and dynamics present in the territory, be they architectural, urban, cultural, economic, or social. In this sense, the work aims to analyze, (re)know, and (re)interpret some critical points of the project, with the intent of structuring the project in the landscape in the best possible way. Finally, the dissertation is a practical exercise that seeks, through theory, to generate an architectural discourse.