Cultura e Sociabilidade na Arquitectura (dês)industrial(lizada)

Abstract

The following dissertation refers to the conversion of industrial buildings into cultural/leisure centers; therefore approaching, among other factors, the relationship that is believed to be established between heritage, art and sociability. The Industrial Heritage as a central theme arises from the contrast with the general situation of other heritage types, from the need to understand its relative devaluation against other programs and, primarily, from the urgency of its preservation. The cultural equipment emerges due to its potential public nature; from the possibility of, as heritage, becoming community property. The democratization of Culture is focused (which is a result of the changes in lifestyle that had the genesis in the industrial age), along with the fact that these spaces are progressively revealed as places of sociability. In parallel, it is possible to verify that Heritage, transformed into a cultural product, acquires an increasing importance in the society. The aim is thus to understand the extent to which the Industrial Heritage and cultural/leisure program come together and especially how the first could be an asset (or not) to accommodate this use. One cannot speak of the importance of industrial heritage without considering the importance that industry and its architecture represent (or represented); therefore, a brief elucidation on the history and constructive trends in industrial age is presented, making it easier to highlight the repercussions of the industrialization process on the vanguards of the 20th century. Thus it was possible to construct a reflection on the adaptability of the cultural program to an inherited industrial form. Before proceeding to the description of four specific examples that will somehow accompany the theoretical speech by handling concepts, the need was felt to reflect on the various means of intervention and space appropriation, making an approach to the pre-interventional situation. After gathering the examples, it was possible to advance to the formulation of a hypothesis, focused on the distinction between institutional and alternative spaces. Other questions emerge in the intervention process, such as the ways of communicating the new use and valuing the historical past. Therefore, it has been pursued to understand what features make today's Industrial Architecture differ or approach to that which is considered heritage. Regarding the relationship that the interventions maintain with the city, it is proposed an approach of the duality between sociability and the emerging individualism in today's society. Beyond this matter, the public nature of the central theme demands an observation in terms of transformation of the city and a determination of the extent these cases may enhance on the revitalization of degraded urban centers. Finally, we evaluate the causes and effects of the increasing mass access to Culture and Heritage, questioning the values and purposes intrinsic to this phenomenon, highlighting the interference of economic issues on the cultural matters. Identity is confronted with globalization; and, finally, the possibility of different approaches to memory issues is verified, extolling different ways of experiencing historical realities. As a conclusion, the role of the Architectural Industrial Heritage is exalted and proposed a vision of a likely future in the logic of Conservation.