Arquitectura Portuguesa no Tempo Longo. Princípios de desenho e forma em igrejas de três naves

Abstract

This thesis centers its theme in the principles of design and form of Portuguese architecture in the long term. In the context of religious architecture, it is focused on study of basilica churches with three naves as a means to investigate the evolution and dissemination of architectural models, the evolution of form and building "know how", between the end of the eleventh and the mid-sixteenth century. The chosen approach (re)defines a viewpoint on what is already known, promoting different views on the buildings through: a documental research, centered on an accurate approach to the past and how they have been regarded, described and characterized so far; the production of new drawings on digital format, crucial to further develop the "analysis through drawing" method; and the analysis of DGEMN's photographic records, registered before, during and after the conservation and repair interventions. The analysis of the three naves model's transformation, based on the observation and characterization of constructive methods, drawings and composition governors, revealed necessary to be considered the circumstances in which these models were built and the context in which they were subsequently modified. Occasionally we may find traces of the existing buildings prior to the Romanesque and Gothic reconstructions; the modern transformations of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; the DGEMN's restoration interventions; and the archaeological excavations developed to the present date. The thesis is structured on four points: the first focuses on the analysis of the benedictine reform and the reconstruction of four key buildings, seeking to understand the benedictine model's implementation in Portugal between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and its resulting spatial transformations; the second studies the link between the benedictines models and the reconstruction of three Romanesque cathedrals, proposing new intersections between churches with different construction programs; the third point rethinks the stylistic boundaries between the Romanesque and the Gothic and the architectural links between religious orders, based the endurance longevity of the Romanesque models far beyond the twelfth century and the extension of the Gothic until the sixteenth century, the fourth promotes an overview on the basilica model's diffusion, exploring the dichotomy in its continuity and innovation. The conclusions point to the identification of a second coherent line, parallel to the construction of the great national monuments, composed of medium scaled basilica churches with three naves, which through drawing analysis revealed existing similarities between cathedrals and benedictine, mendicants and parish churches, built between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, seemingly connecting very different buildings. The drawings comparison and overlay revealed similarities in the building's scale and proportion; presented hypotheses on the basic models that define the intertwining of the diferent parts; stressed the solutions found on each building to transform its form and spatiality, amplifying or reducing its plan and basilica section; and highlighted the buildings that stood out due to its head and transept development, its main facade composition and the special development of its architectural ornaments. Thus, without seeking consensus, a path is defined around the specificity of Portuguese architecture in the long term, taking into account the diversity of its expression.