Construir com uma Evidência. O Contributo da Madeira

Abstract

The master thesis theme appears bearing in mind the lived experiences in two cities: Buenos Aires and Porto. Keeping in mind the image of the porteñas streets, regularly organized and intense lived, and transpoting it to the city of Porto, the heterogeneity of its streets is brought by the spatial (dis)continuity considering their urban environment. In this context, the aim was to understand the correlation between the dichotomy continuity /discontinuity and the urban environment, thus it was chosen a set of continuous streets for case study, a city axis. Therefore, starting in Olival door, through Cedofeita Street till Circunvalação Road, the axis was approached by two criteria: the physical and sensory, representing two types of relation the human being can have with the urban surroundings. Once ending the path along the axis, the need of the concept clarification increased, since often a sensed discontinuity can be, in another point of view, seen as a continuity. Given the conceptual ambiguity, it was clear that there are three parameters of understanding: the physical, the functional and the social, which the time factor is interdependent by its correlation between the stays and the social changes. Understanding at the same time that proximity and scale are essential in its interpretation, being relevant facing the path in different scales, from the street itself to the city scale, and as a link once that is how the spaces relate among them in constant proximity. So, for the axis concept comprehension, urban environment components were analyzed with the intent of approaching the (dis)continuities to the referred case study. More than understanding the negative of positive implications the continuities and discontinuities may have in the urban life, it was enhanced the importance of the relation between them, looking for the meaning of the spaces "between" as a transition link from the small to big scale.