The ‘Rethinking Domestic Space’ research project, part of the Atlas da Casa group of the Centre for Architecture and Urbanism of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto (CEAU-FAUP), aims to develop research focused on the opportunity and capacity for regeneration of existing public housing buildings, making a timely and fruitful contribution to the debate, reflection and knowledge that has been taking place and is being produced in the national and international context.

Against a backdrop of prolonged outdating of the housing stock promoted, managed and publicly owned in the city of Porto - the Portuguese city with the highest percentage of public housing in the country - a group of housing estates built in the city were chosen as a specific case study to test their capacity for updating and reuse. In this context, the aim is to identify strategies, approaches, methodologies and intervention tools which, depending on the specific nature of the pre-existing stock, will enable qualified responses to be tested and adjusted to various realities, namely the renewed social and cultural composition of the population, along with its ageing and the reorganisation of family households, within a framework of a recognised deficit in the provision of public housing, and the challenges and demands resulting from the ongoing climate crisis.

The selection of the 13 municipal housing neighbourhoods - a total of 6,072 dwellings - built as part of the 1957-1966 Improvement Plan for the City of Porto as the focus of this research is justified by the fact that they still represent almost half of the city's publicly-owned, managed and promoted housing, but also by the fact that they were all built using the same type-morphological matrix. If we also take into account the 1,674 dwellings built under the extension of the aforementioned Plan, we can conclude that more than half of the city's existing municipal housing is located in housing complexes with similar characteristics, both in terms of type and construction, and that they are comparable to a significant number of buildings and neighbourhoods built throughout the country in the same period.

Some 40 years after they were built, at the beginning of the 21st century, new legal frameworks and funding opportunities made it possible to carry out a number of planned upgrading actions in various neighbourhoods, centred on rehabilitating the exterior and common parts of the buildings, as well as the building infrastructure networks, more recently including some public space interventions. However, so far there has been no systematic strategy for remodelling the interior of the home, which should be associated with a reinvigorated conceptualisation of the domestic space.

Thus, in the context of the fact that the domestic space in the municipal neighbourhoods of Porto has become outdated, research and reflection are being carried out on the ways of living in the 21st century and on rethinking the private space of housing in Portugal, drawing on the knowledge and experiences that have been developed in the national and international context.

Team

Researchers

Marta Rocha Moreira (Responsible)
CEAU-FAUP, Portugal

Raquel Geada Paulino (Responsible)
CEAU-FAUP, Portugal

Maria José Casanova
CEAU-FAUP, Portugal

Scholarship holders

Joana Ceia (Scholarship FCT-BIM, de 14.02.2022 a 20.07.2023)
CEAU-FAUP, Portugal

Rúben Ângelo (Scholarship FCT-BIM, de 14.02.2022 a 4.01.2023)
CEAU-FAUP, Portugal

Maria Inês Reis (Scholarship FCT-BIM, de 20.03.2023 a 4.08.2023)
CEAU-FAUP, Portugal

Advisors

Carmen Espegel Alonso
GIVCO-ETSAM

Juan Sabater Andreu
ETSAV-UPC

Professional Training

ROCHA MOREIRA, Marta, GEADA PAULINO, Raquel, HABITAÇÃO I. Aproximações a partir do campo disciplinar da Arquitectura. Porto: DomusSocial, EM, 15,16 e 17 dezembro 2021
(Marta Rocha Moreira e Raquel Geada Paulino - Responsáveis pela organização do curso e pela formação do conjunto das três sessões)

session 1
Seis décadas de Políticas de Habitação em Portugal 1910_1974
session 2
A transformação e actualização da Habitação Municipal Portuense
session 3
Repensar o espaço doméstico. Experiências de transformação e reuso em edifícios de habitação existentes

ROCHA MOREIRA, Marta, GEADA PAULINO, Raquel, HABITAÇÃO II. Aproximações a partir do campo disciplinar da Arquitectura. Porto: DomusSocial, EM, 6, 8 e 9 setembro 2022
(Marta Rocha Moreira e Raquel Geada Paulino - Responsáveis pela organização do curso e pela formação do conjunto das três sessões)

session 4
Uma linha de investigação sobre os bairros do Plano de Melhoramentos da cidade do Porto
session 5
Origens e evolução dos edifícios com acesso por galeria dos bairros do Plano de Melhoramentos, 1956-1965
session 6
Vulnerabilidade e Isolamento. Leituras a partir de três bairros: Fernão de Magalhães, Fonte da Moura e Regado

Meetings

29 October 2022
Meeting coordinated by Marta Rocha Moreira and Raquel Geada Paulino, attended by consultant Carmen Espegel Alonso (GIVCO-ETSAM), the team of researchers and grant holders of the ‘Rethinking Domestic Space’ research project, and the MIArq thesis students involved in the ongoing research.

The meeting comprised:
The presentation and discussion of the work that had been carried out and which, at the time, had been programmed by the research project;
The development of a reflection on the defined research objectives and methodology;
The presentation of work carried out by the MIArq thesis students involved in the ongoing research.
The meeting was held at Casa Cor de Rosa, CEAU FAUP.

25 March 2023
The meeting was coordinated by Marta Rocha Moreira and Raquel Geada Paulino, and was attended by consultant Juan Sabater Andreu (ETSAV-UPC), the team of researchers and scholarship holders from the ‘Rethinking Domestic Space’ research project, and the MIArq thesis students involved in the ongoing research.

The meeting included:
The presentation and discussion of the work that had been carried out and which, at the time, had been programmed by the research project;
The development of a reflection on the defined research objectives and methodology;
The presentation of work carried out by the MIArq thesis students involved in the ongoing research.
The meeting was held at Casa Cor de Rosa, CEAU FAUP.

Abstract of accepted article

ÂNGELO, Rúben, PAULINO, Raquel Geada, New time and new challenges claim new strategies. The key role of Flexibility in contemporary municipal housing retrofit. Proposta de resumo submetida ao Sophia Journal Vol. 9 | Landscapes of Care. Social housing across multiple geographies: Crossing theories and practices. Proposta aceite.
Sophia Journal | Print ISSN: 2183-8976 Online ISSN: 2183-9468 DOI: 10.24840/2183-8976

Dissertation Guidance MIArq-FAUP

BORDIN, Irene, Vulnerabilidade e Isolamento. Reflexões sobre o papel da arquitetura na solidão a partir da análise de três bairros na cidade do Porto. Porto: FAUP, 2021. Dissertação de MIArq apresentada a 9 de julho 2021, sob a orientação científica de Raquel Geada Paulino (Orientadora) e Joana Couceiro (Co Orientadora)
https://hdl.handle.net/10216/135927

Abstract
In a context of a progressively ageing population, particularly in Europe, and in the wake of the isolation imposed by the pandemic, we recognised the importance, topicality and urgency of understanding the phenomenon of loneliness, and the opportunity to question it from the disciplinary area of architecture, highlighting the central role of the architect in the construction of spaces that generate greater or lesser isolation or connection. In order to do this, a case study was chosen of the set of neighbourhoods built under the Improvement Plan for the city of Porto, in particular the Regado, Fonte da Moura and Fernão de Magalhães neighbourhoods, in which the existence of a particular and expressive vulnerability was recognised. Based on a theoretical approach to understanding a set of concepts and processes, a methodology of observation and a matrix for analysing the case studies were developed, with the aim of understanding the urban and architectural dimension of the problem and subsequently building a map capable of representing the different types and levels of isolation and, in this way, clarifying and highlighting the role of form in favouring or mitigating isolation and the feeling of loneliness.


ARAÚJO, Maria Francisca Monteiro de, A Galeria Exterior em Edifícios de Habitação Plurifamiliar: Experiências Portuenses, 1915-2007. Porto: FAUP, 2021. Porto: FAUP, 2021. Dissertação de MIArq apresentada a 13 de dezembro 2021, sob a orientação científica de Marta Rocha Moreira (Orientadora)
https://hdl.handle.net/10216/139606

Abstract
‘The Exterior Gallery in Multifamily Housing Buildings: Experiences from Porto, 1915-2007’ is a study of the gallery as an access system to multifamily housing buildings over several generations. Taking the city of Porto as a starting point, 36 case studies have been compiled that list a vast universe covering different time periods, different contexts and also different types of promotion, demonstrating the gallery's ability to adapt to various ways of life. From the study of the original architectural projects, based on primary sources collected from public and private archives in the city, it was possible to document, redesign and analyse all the works, by defining a standard form that allows all the case studies to be easily compared. Subsequently, design themes and particular characteristics were identified in the way these buildings were designed, not only from an architectural point of view, but also in terms of the aggregating potential they provide for the residents' lives. Throughout this journey of almost 100 years, it is understood that, rather than an option, the gallery has been an opportunity, which is why there is an irrefutable need to emphasise and reaffirm its interest and validity as an access system, presenting a fresh look at the subject.’


COSTA, Patrick Alves, (Re)Habilitar_O Bairro do Cerco. Porto: FAUP, 2021. Dissertação de MIArq apresentada a 14 de dezembro 2021, sob a orientação científica de Maria José Casanova (Orientadora)
https://hdl.handle.net/10216/139810

Abstract
The issue of multi-family housing - from the domestic space to the urban space - is, today as in the past, a fundamental topic for reflection. Faced with the characteristics of degradation, inadequacy and marginalisation evident in municipal collective housing built under the Porto City Improvement Plan - resulting from construction techniques, typological and dimensional characteristics, as well as the urban composition system - and given the potential that these complexes simultaneously present, the Cerco neighbourhood was chosen as a case study, exploring different forms of intervention based on the confrontation between permanence and transformation. Based on two nuclear spheres: housing and the urban system - operating mechanisms for the stage of individual and family life and for the internal and external social life of the complex as well as its relationship with the city - complementary devices are tested that are capable of transforming the housing complex in terms of its spatial, functional and domestic characteristics, so as to allow it to adapt to contemporary needs and diversified family dynamics, and in terms of its aesthetic and environmental characteristics, integrating new spatial and urban articulations that seek to reverse environmental discomfort and the inability to stimulate relationships, as well as the character of urban marginalisation.


REIS, Tiago Filipe Dias, (Re) pensar o Bairro do Bom Sucesso: propostas de especulação pelo projeto. Porto: FAUP, 2023. Dissertação de MIArq apresentada a 12 de julho 2023, sob a orientação científica de Marta Rocha Moreira (Orientadora)
https://hdl.handle.net/10216/151447

Abstract
‘In his book The Imaginary Museum, André Malraux argued that the observation of reality and the metaphysical reflection we can develop on it are intimately linked to the creative act and that this dichotomy often balances between modes of enjoyment that can be divergent or convergent. Between past and future, the dissertation entitled ‘(Re)thinking the Bom Sucesso neighbourhood: proposals for speculation through design' proposes looking at one of Porto's most emblematic neighbourhoods, considering both the experiences of its inhabitants and the ideas developed by different architects, proposing a revitalisation idea capable of uniting an almost static reality with the transformative capacity of architectural design, taking into account the scale of the neighbourhood, the building and the fire, through three distinct but simultaneous actions: Cohabit, Disperse and Release. The aim is to develop architectural ideas and principles, intervening at the level of models for organising domestic space, considering both common and private spaces, from the neighbourhood to the house. Considering all existing housing as a scarce resource in the face of the frequent housing shortage crises that plague cities, it is essential to constantly rethink each and every domestic space through exploratory ideas that inform future project actions.’


PINTO, Rita Gonçalves, Ageing in Place. Hipóteses para a grande idade no Bairro de Fernão de Magalhães. Porto: FAUP, 2023. Dissertação de MIArq apresentada a 13 de julho 2023, sob a orientação científica de Marta Rocha Moreira (Orientadora)
https://hdl.handle.net/10216/151395

Abstract
‘This dissertation deals with the role of architecture in ageing in place, on the public and domestic scales, through project experimentation. Throughout the study of understanding the needs, desires and transformations inherent in old age, hypotheses for intervention in the Fernão de Magalhães neighbourhood in Porto are explored to promote active and healthy ageing. The case study is a social neighbourhood, a characteristic that highlights the municipality's economy of areas and means, as it has a responsibility to provide housing that is accessible - financially and utilitarianly - to all groups of the population. The dissertation seeks to delay or avoid situations in which the older person has to move house - by which I mean their place of residence, not just their home - due to the inadequacy or lack of accessibility of their current home and its surroundings. Parallel to the topics discussed, analyses, references and proposals emerge and there is a relationship of mutual enrichment between all of them - culminating in a better understanding of the senior citizen's expectations in relation to the house and the use of the city, and the launch of project hypotheses that promote ageing in place.’


OLIVEIRA, Ana Catarina Cação de, Tabula Plena. Estratégias de densificação no Bairro da Fonte da Moura. Porto: FAUP, 2023. Dissertação de MIArq apresentada a 6 de novembro 2023, sob a orientação científica de Marta Rocha Moreira (Orientadora)
https://hdl.handle.net/10216/155304
Menção honrosa Archiprix 2024 – www.archiprixportugal.org

Abstract
‘Reflecting on housing spaces is a central issue in the current debate, and in recent years we have seen many projects focused on the redesign and rehabilitation of social housing neighbourhoods built in the mid-20th century. Starting with the Fonte da Moura neighbourhood built in Porto in the 1960s, we look at concepts such as Tabula Plena, Density and Housing Bricolage. It is based on an analysis of the publications of the a+t publishing house that deals with the theme of density, the book ‘Tabula Plena. Forms of Urban Preservation’ by Bryony Roberts and architect Fabio Lepratto's study on collective housing built after the Second World War, “Transformare case e quartieri”, this dissertation develops and elaborates new space organisation schemes to ensure the coexistence of different ideas and perspectives, renewed ways of inhabiting and living in the neighbourhood space. The urgency to dignify existing housing ends up being limited by the typological uniformity and resistance to variation that characterises most social housing complexes. Therefore, the aim is to find a set of tools and strategies, through the study and analysis of the themes listed above, that allow the manipulation of the existing, seeking to restructure and densify it, without de-characterising its own identity.’


ÂNGELO, Rúben, Pluralidade e Incerteza. Por um habitar flexível e evolutivo. O bairro da Pasteleira. Porto: FAUP, 2023. Dissertação de MIArq apresentada a 7 de novembro 2023, sob a orientação científica de Raquel Geada Paulino (Orientadora)
https://hdl.handle.net/10216/155942

Abstract
Faced with the diversity and permanent reconfiguration of contemporary society, in a context of growing inequality, impoverishment and vulnerability, a reflection on the problem of housing is developed in the context of municipal housing in the city of Porto, experimenting with hypotheses for the reuse of existing built structures, with the aim of updating them and adapting them to new needs and modes of use that can contribute to the quality of life of the inhabitants. In the universe of municipal housing in the city of Porto, the case study is the set of neighbourhoods built under the Improvement Plan for the city, in particular the Pasteleira neighbourhood, and the theme of flexibility is chosen as the key principle around which to explore possible solutions for reconfiguring domestic space adapted and suited to a wide and diverse universe of family dynamics and needs.


MENDES, Rute Cruz, Problemas e Desafios da Cidade Contemporânea. Aproximações a partir do Espaço Público do Bairro do Regado. Porto: FAUP, 2023. Dissertação de MIArq apresentada a 7 de novembro 2023, sob a orientação científica de Raquel Geada Paulino (Orientadora)
https://hdl.handle.net/10216/156581

Abstract
In the face of contemporary scale, complexity and fragmentation, we recognise the central importance of public space in the process of urban construction and transformation, due to its role as an element of physical and symbolic cohesion. In this context, a reflection is developed on understanding and identifying the principles that guide the definition of a public space design solution that is designed to be timely, efficient and contribute to citizens' quality of life. As a case study, due to the characteristics of the surrounding areas, the degree of disqualification and the impact and exemplarity of the results that would be achieved, the set of neighbourhoods built under the Improvement Plan for the city of Porto was chosen, in particular the exterior space of the Regado neighbourhood, for which a programmatic and architectural reflection and proposal was developed for the public space system, capable of updating it and transforming it into an urban space suited to the needs and demands of the city.

CORTELETTI, Beatriz Franco, Memória e Identidade. Uma reflexão a partir dos Bairros do Plano de Melhoramentos para a cidade do Porto. Porto: FAUP, 2023. Dissertação de MIArq apresentada a 12 de novembro 2024, sob a orientação científica de Raquel Geada Paulino (Orientadora)
https://hdl.handle.net/10216/163372

Abstract
‘The research carried out as part of the work presented here focuses on the relationship between the architectural object and the subject, addressing the user's interaction with the public space and with the private space for collective use, namely in the spaces that make up the access systems of collective housing buildings. Recognising the importance of memory and the creation of a sense of belonging in the act of living, the study developed from the analysis and understanding of the ways of living in community and the role of identity in the quality of collective living, namely in housing complexes promoted and managed by the municipality, located in the city of Porto. After an initial theoretical approach to the concepts of memory and identity, the work was structured around the reading and characterisation of a set of four municipal neighbourhoods built as part of the Improvement Plan for the city of Porto, out of thirteen designed and built. We are referring, in particular, to the Fernão de Magalhães neighbourhood [1959-1960], the Pasteleira neighbourhood [1957-1960], the Cerco neighbourhood [1960-1963] and the Pio XII neighbourhood [1956-1958] as they have different starting conditions that we believe favour the analysis and understanding of the proposed theme. In this context, we sought to clarify the individual and collective identity that characterises the four case studies, in order to understand how it affects collective living and to ask about its quality. To this end, we developed an analysis that was structured from the disciplinary field of architecture in four stages. After first characterising each of the neighbourhoods, we analysed the systems of public spaces, trying to understand the conditions of access and crossing, specifically pedestrian circulation, as well as the conditions of permanence with the aim of identifying circumstances and principles favourable to the emergence of a feeling of inclusion and belonging, and to the structuring of neighbourhood ties that contribute decisively to the quality of life of their inhabitants.’