O que farei com esta casa? - Uma reabilitação em Leiria

Rehabilitation is one of today's leading subjects regarding architecture. Preserving a building's history, while trying to answer the comfort needs demanded today, is one of the major challenges in this study area. Therefore, the following essay dwells on the process of rehabilitating a small historic building in Leiria. While facing the difficulty of adapting an existing construction to a new function and programme, it seeks to understand the practices and principles inherent in the rehabili...

Fundação Iberê Camargo, Álvaro Siza: uma aproximação crítica

The new Fundação Iberê Camargo building (1998-2008), in Porto Alegre,constitutes the central subject of this study, which main field concerns developinga reflection on the phenomenon of architectural design.This building is the first project of the Portuguese architect ÁlvaroSiza (1933 - ) in Brazil. It was constructed to shelter the headquarters of theInstitution, which main purpose was to catalogue and disclose, nationallyand internationally, the work of one of the biggest Brazilian express...

Olhar o passado em defesa do futuro

To be "sustainable" is not a post-modern attitude.Architecture relies, more than ever, in the relearning of the Modern Era critical spiritand the revisiting of the past, to proof that an architectural work does not depend on a keyconcept. Instead, it depends on "being born", paraphrasing Távora, "from the people and fromthe land", in accordance with conditioning factors established by the surroundings.In the 60s, a new posture, linking conscience and responsability, was born to assure theretu...

Quinta da Borralha e Vale Santo. Uma oportunidade de requalificação em área florestal de protecção

Quinta da Borralha and Vale Santo is a land with about 2 hectares placed between Maia and Trofa. It belongs to the Ventura de Sousa's family since 1961. When the original owner passed away, it became unused and forsaken. This permanent state of abandonment comes to stretch for several years until the present time mainly due to the excess number of heirs (14 direct heirs for paternity). In addition to the intrinsic family interest in the work, the Quinta da Borralha proves to be also an object...