vila viçoSa (pt

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IntErvIEW

of the Site’S repreSentative MAnuEl lApão, architect, city repreSentative (excerpt froM the coMpetition brief)

presentation of the site within the context of the city development and in terms of strategy

vila viçosa is situated in alentejo, near Spain, in a sparsely populated region. the municipality wishes to manage its territory by preserving an important architectural and urban legacy while at the same time reactivating urban life and resources. for urban spaces to adapt to changes in an uncertain future, their uses need to be optimised with new economic, social and cultural meaning, without losing the sense of inherited identities. the vila viçosa europan site is located at the southern entrance to the village, previously polarized by the railway and the currently crisis-hit marble industries. the regeneration issues: a) old industrial marble processing units (now obsolete) and an adjacent roundabout and highway to be integrated into the new village entrance and activity centre, with a new image; b) the abandoned railway line and warehouses to be adapted to new structures supporting leisure, religious and culture activities around a cycling greenway and multi-use public spaces.

How can the site be integrated in the issue of the adaptable city and how do you consider this issue?

to ensure continuity with the valuable historical urban fabric, new urban concepts need to be introduced: to find alternatives that adapt the traditional large-scale public spaces (carrascais) to new kinds of events, to enhance the site’s attractiveness at the local, regional, national and international scales: a) new ‘entrance’ to the village, with the regeneration of surrounding disused areas and a positive image; - exhibition and social area, to attract new uses and functions (technology, research and exhibition centre), relating to marble production and marketing; b) new tourist destination (business, religious, eco-cultural); - transition/integration spaces in a cultural landscape that can be adapted to new activities and lifestyles; - alternatives to car use within the village.

At the time of sustainable development coupled to an economic crisis, have you already defined a specific strategy for the urban development of the site?

there is an on-going strategic development and urban regeneration plan that seeks to rehabilitate, recover and integrate the urban landscape values, with genuine public participation and shared responsibility by local partners in sustaining their cultural legacy through financial support for the implementation programme. the objectives of this plan are: a) to activate the strategic potential of vila viçosa as an urban model of national identity in the historical, social, landscape, urban and architectural spheres; b) to provide solutions for the existing architectural, urban and landscape clutter, with the economic and social contribution of the marble processing industry.

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StuDy area propoSal reuSeD builDing, interior vieW

between landscapes

team point of view in vila viçosa, we identified five distinct landscapes: geological, productive, extractive, industrial and urban; each of these landscapes has a deep sense of time. We are interested in the marks left in the territory over time, marks that we propose to expose, improve and intensify. if we understand these landscapes as the result of a set of actions implemented over time, we can think an intervention for vila viçosa that introduces new actions. We propose an intervention of actions developed over time, in a slow but durable process, resulting from the evolution of a network of natural, productive, social and constructive systems. for vila viçosa, we propose 24 mechanisms grouped into 6 families of actions, addressing the intervention in terms of the adaptability and re-generation of the identified landscapes.

jury point of view the conceptual content of the proposal is interesting and meets the programme objectives by using elements that mark the passing of time, although in some cases they are not clearly argued in terms of adaptability. treated from a temporal perspective with the aim of minimising rigidity, several proposals have solutions for upgrading existing elements to future uses, seeking to respond to the various objectives of the brief, including the proposed use of the railway infrastructure.

general Section

neW attraction poleS for vila viçoSa

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the concept of the project: paveMent / people / tent

the loWereD Square in front of the conference hall

the geoMetrical paveMent turnS into cultivate fielDS

the gueSt rooMS in the olive plantation

tupperware party – on the relational field

team point of view vila viçosa doesn’t need new buildings. We propose a wide empty rectangular field, defined by a big tent and a distinctive pavement. they are both designed using a geometric matrix, but inspired by two traditional features: the idea of the tridimensional tent comes from the manueline gothic vaults; the pavement is a variation on the theme of the traditional basalt and limestone pavements. this outdoor arrangement connects several existing buildings and it changes the city border whilst adding almost nothing. pre-existing and new buildings are arranged on the field like plastic boxes on a picnic blanket: as happens in vintage tupperware parties, our project prompts people to meet each other in the open air, to get out and enter the relational field.

jury point of view the conceptual content was considered interesting and well contextualised for the local community, including aspects that reflect the diversity of cultural identity. in terms of adaptability, the principal space created as a reinvention of a “square” at the entrance to the village, as well as the areas adjacent to it, offer a diversity and multiplicity of uses.