A Arquitectura no Espaço da Cultura Portuguesa. O contributo de Eduardo Prado Coelho

Abstract

This research intends to evaluate the contribution of the Portuguese scholar Eduardo Prado Coelho (E.P.C.) to the promotion of architecture. As a prolific author and influential intellectual in the cultural scene, we propose a retrospective of his activity related to the cultural development, seeking to understand and document the nature of his involvement with the architectural realm. Taking into account that his involvement reflects an emerging condition of architecture in both its production and its relationship with the public, we simultaneously try to identify the operators of this change, highlighting its influence on society and contemporary thought. In a first approach surrounding the field of architecture, we consider a part of his early work, debuting in the late 60's and cultivated throughout his subsequent production, referring to a spatial thinking at the intersection of different realms such as literature, arts or humanities. It should be stressed that his approach is characterized by a fragmented discourse dispersed throughout several essays, overlapping interpretive layers brought about by new readings. At this stage, the discussion focuses primarily on the quality of space understood as a poetic subject and displaying an active role in a given narrative, and also as a dynamic entity responsible, to some extent, for the relation between subject and reality. Understanding the spatial phenomena as a haptic experience and not merely a visual one, we look forward to interpret spatial and architectural metaphors present in artistic and literary production in conjunction with the philosophical and scientific research. Starting in the 90's and converging several interests hitherto disconnected, E.P.C. identified architecture as a powerful tool aiming to the regeneration of urban experience and an asset to the culture at various levels. Among several reasons, he believed that in this production relied some of the nuclear operators for a wide reflection on society, and supported the process of public popularity that transcends the professional circle of the discipline. Overall, this research aims to document and reflect issues focusing the relations between space, body and language; as well as the understanding of space as dynamic and subjective entity; the reconfiguration of the symbolic ways of interpreting the urban condition; extending the observation to the increasing presence of architecture in the cultural milieu and its potential contributions to society and contemporary thought. Furthermore, we also look forward to emphasize the contribution of this intellectual as a pioneer act in the promotion of architecture within the broader culture.