Marques da Silva - Da viagem ao Projeto

Abstract

The present dissertation is a reflection on the issue of travel in the act of projecting and its important contribution to the understanding of the project and the work, of the architect and his architecture. Considering the present work also as a journey, the first chapter, "Departing", presents the object of study, sets up the final objectives and displays the structure chosen for the development of all research. The second chapter, "Travel", outstands a theoretical approach to the proposed topic and it establishes the basic concepts for the understanding of the work that follows. This chapter presents travel as an important tool for the formation of the architect himself, which is further supported with case studies, and its influence upon him. It also contextualizes a trip throughout Portuguese architecture, which is also illustrated with examples. The third chapter, "About The trip of Marques da Silva," is defined by the approach to the object of study and is divided into two parts, the first of which leads us to get to know the architect, his identity and his formative path, whose description is indispensable to the necessary understanding of the second part. This second part conveys a research and an analysis on seven of the several trips made by the architect, each one structured according to trip motivations, destination and route and log analysis, this one providing vital information to the development of the fourth chapter. The fourth chapter, "From the trip to the project", is also divided into two parts: the first, consisting of the analysis to the case study, the Theatre of S. João, comprises one first moment where the whole process of design and construction of the project is described, and a second moment where the possible influences gathered by the architect while travelling are identified; in the second part of this chapter, it is reinforced this process of identification of common elements observed during his trips, but applied to other case studies. The fifth and last chapter, "Arriving", the initial objectives of the work become explicit.