Rita Mégre
Evolução das formas de habitação plurifamiliar na cidade de Lisboa — by Nuno Teotónio Pereira and Irene Buarque (photography) . Lisboa: CML|DMC|DPC, 2017.
Published by Lisbon City Hall (CML), the book Evolução das formas de habitação plurifamiliar na cidade de Lisboa (Changes in multi-family housing in the city of Lisbon), by Nuno Teotónio Pereira, is a collection of the architect’s research between1978 and1979 for Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian which he donated to the city hall in 2013.
On the 30th January, Lisbon City Hall is launching the book Evolução das formas de habitação plurifamiliar na cidade de Lisboa (Changes in multi-family housing in the city of Lisbon), by Nuno Teotónio Pereira, a collection of the architect’s research between1978 and1979 for Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian which he donated to the city hall in 2013.
The corpus of the study is multi-family housing, considered as “o conjunto de unidades de alojamento familiar (ou fogos) que integram uma mesma unidade de construção (edifício ou prédio)”, and spans over a long expansion period of Lisbon which starts in the Middle Ages and ends in the 1930s. The author justifies his criteria, stating that these “serem os edifícios de todo este período que estão mais imediatamente ameaçados de destruição e corresponderem por outro lado à fase de maior expansão contínua da cidade”.
So as to define the different types of buildings, Nuno Teotónio Pereira made a preliminary survey in which he identified over a thousand buildings and small “common” housing complexes over 6 major historical periods – buildings before 1755; reconstruction and expansion after the Earthquake; new neighbourhoods after 1850s; housing for workers at the onset of industrialization; the expansion of the early 20th century; the influence of the Modernist Movement.
He then selected the buildings he would analyse and document in greater detail (both in terms of the object itself and its urban framework) which would be included in the final document to be handed in to Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian (3 typed volumes) and which will now be published by CML. This document focuses on rather unknown but interesting buildings and schemes, either because of their features, because they are good examples of a given period or because they are rare, original examples of their typologies having almost completely disappeared.
The book is prefaced by architect Ricardo Carvalho and includes a brief introduction by Irene Buarque, who accompanied Nuno Teotónio Pereira in the field and made the photographic survey. The corpus includes an introduction (describing the research object and the research methodology) and 272 registry cards of buildings and complexes (with a description, location plan and photograph), divided into 6 periods (with an overview map) and 23 types – from “casas de andares de ressalto” to “1930s Modernist era”, each with a text describing the framework and the main building features.
Nuno Teotónio Pereira aimed that his inventory could contribute “um contributo útil para a definição de zonas ou edifícios a proteger, sobretudo nos casos em que o processo de destruição está muito adiantado”, as was already visble in areas of great historical significance as in Avenidas Novas. He warned against the lack of regulation “a falta de instrumentos legais de alcance prático”, since classifying a building does not prevent it from ruin and advocated the need for measures “medidas imediatas para evitar a destruição ou grave mutilação de alguns exemplares ou conjuntos urbanos de prédios de habitação pluri-familiar, que constituem a massa dominante da construção na cidade”.
Considering this study was made 40 years ago, all locations were revisited and a new photograph was taken to identify the changes having taken place in the building and in its surrounding area. As a result, and maintaining the structure and contents of the original work, complementary information was introduced, namely, a photograph for comparison and details on the addresses.
Individual description cards were numbered and the buildings and complexes are now represented using current topographic maps, in the scale 1:2000, except for the six which are located outside Lisbon.
CML thus aims to disseminate a ground-breaking work, still relevant today in view of its theme and the time and space span and contribute to wider knowledge, enhancement and safekeeping of a so-called “less important” and anonymous architecture which, in fact, represents Lisbon’s main image. Since “nem só os edifícios ou bairros mas antigos devem ser salvaguardados da destruição ou da desfiguração: é necessário que testemunhos significativos da edificação das diferentes épocas possam ser conservados, tanto ao nível de conjuntos como ao nível do objeto individualizado”.
Evolução das formas de habitação plurifamiliar na cidade de Lisboa, by Nuno Teotónio Pereira and Irene Buarque (photography) . Lisboa: CML|DMC|DPC, 2017.
Rita Mégre
Lisbon City Hall / Municipal Office for Cultural Affairs / Department of Cultural Heritage