As formas do projecto, uma matriz interpretativa: o caso da Avenida da Ponte

Abstract

For over a century, Porto's Avenida da Ponte has been the subject of more than four dozen unexecuted urban projects, drafted by nationally and internationally renowned architects. The present thesis investigates the visible and invisible vestiges of these proposals and structures a comprehension of the reasons behind their forms as its central focus. The research develops an interpretive matrix, supported by three observational devices, which underpins the construction of a rigorous methodology articulating: a theoretical-practical reflection on the four phases of the methodological design process, integrating a review of concepts that identify the permanencies of the place, the superimpositions, and the collective memory; a chronological review of events and projects developed for the Avenida da Ponte (1913-2025); an analytical method, divided into two distinct moments and applied to a specific selection of projects; and the consequent correlations between the project, the architect, and the site. The results obtained reveal that the architectural and urban planning solutions for the Avenida da Ponte are not merely configured as tangible products, but as the outcome of dynamic processes and interactions. Through the observational devices, we substantiate that the forms were determined by their historical and political context, by how each architect interpreted the conditions of the commission and their relationship with the place, and that their outcome was directly determined by the correlations between the phases of the design process and the project itself. Consequently, we understand that the fact that the Avenida da Ponte was the object of 41 unexecuted projects is a causality of political, economic, landscape, and design contexts. The investigation suggests that the methodological framework for project interpretation will support the expansion and orientation of its applicability and operationality to new readings, focusing on singular places or deepening the analysis of other types of projects. In synthesis, the aim is to foster debate surrounding the reasons that allow the knowledge of how to design to be rendered legible and intelligible.