Avenida da Ponte. Memória e reabilitação urbana. Arquitectura, presente e passado

• Autor(a) principal: Sílvia Alexandra Canelas Ferreira
• Data de Publicação: 2012
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://repositorio-aberto.up.pt/handle/10216/80259
• topic: Artes; Arts

The present dissertation focuses on the architectural intervention in historic city centres, on changes and developments intrinsic to the development of cities, its importance and relevance, focusing on analysis of the historical centre of Porto, Morro da Pena Ventosa, more specifically in Avenida da Ponte and on the vast, elaborate spectrum of designs for this area, from the conception of the idea of creating a new crossing over the Douro river and subsequent articulation with the city centre, up to today.The historic centre of Porto has been degrading with the growth of the city's scale, with its commercial spray and other phenomena of suburbanization, common to almost every European cities. The issue of the Avenida da Ponte and the certain decadence of its historical centre have passed through the conjunction of several factors to be considered in this dissertation. Standing out in particular are: the excessive shred of the medieval urban mesh, by axes of another order of scale, destined to centralize the automobile and pedestrian traffic, directed towards the centre of the city (mainly Avenida da Ponte), which no longer coincide with the medieval core; and the new centre, that with the initial help of the São Bento's train station, amplifies its importance and transformation into a civic centre with the beginning of the Avenida dos Aliados. Should it also be reminded that both location and formal features of the land on witch the Morro da Sé stands, including large height differences, the existence of the Douro river, whose crossing transports us to another historic centre - Gaia - equally undervalued, help the current panorama.Intervening in historical centres goes beyond the field of transformation of the urban landscape, referring to the memory and history of the city, which constitute its character and specificity. This exercise, always difficult and subjective, still composes a problem that harasses Portuguese cities and urban centres, launching a discussion every new intervention.Hence, in this dissertation, it becomes relevant to understand the motives that had led downtown Porto to this condition, and how should it be possible to revitalize it, providing opportunities for development to the city.