CONCRETE focuses on the residential area of Telheiras Sul, in Lisbon, Portugal a quarter
built in the 1970’s in an area which was at the time one of the suburbs of the city. The construction
project was developed and managed by EPUL, Lisbon's Public Urbanisation Agency.
I chose this quarter of Lisbon to develop my project because Telheiras has distinctive social and architectural characteristics, as most of the buildings are from the same period. Today Telheiras is a middle/upper-class neighbourhood, although it was initially planned as an affordable modern residential quarter, targeted at different social groups. The architecture planning is linear, sober and organic, the buildings come together and display little, if any, ornamentation. Much like the United Kingdom’s New Towns (circa 1940’s-1960’s) and brutalist architecture (mid 1950’s-1960’s).
It is interesting to note that, when planning this new quarter, there was a concern to projecting the buildings facing two sides: one, facing the street and the roads and the other side facing shared green spaces, thus transforming the relationship between the residents and their surroundings.
The area was designed with a formal uniformity, based on prefabricated exterior wall panels supported by traditional concrete structures, giving a sense of rigour and discipline in appearance, colour, treatment and texture.
This neighbourhood has always been familiar to me - where my grandmother lives since the seventies and it's where my mother and uncles grew up and had their "neighbourhood friends" - something that almost seems to have disappeared from many cities. Although that social interaction is mainly generational and not particular to specific quarters, it always struck to me as somehow stronger in Telheiras. This was why I decided to pursue this particular project. To me this ‘peculiarity’ had to have some connection with the architectural project.
And it did: building apartment blocks facing two sides (the road and the green spaces), it was possible to create safe, familiar, parks that the residents could enjoy without having to face the street, thus somewhat deconstructing the usual idea of city. Despite the appalling lack of friendly green areas in the cities and a profusion of available indoor activities, Telheiras tried to counter this tendency.
With these considerations as the starting point, I tried to explore which ways the architecture and its relation to the natural environment, came together to create such a particular area. The buildings proved to be a true labyrinth, ideal for children's play, and also as a paradigm of the public and the private. That is, the only real private space is the interior of the apartments, all the rest is a playground. It was in this playground that I lost myself and that I realised how architecture can intervene (in this case, for the better) and help create certain conditions in our day to day lives.
I chose this quarter of Lisbon to develop my project because Telheiras has distinctive social and architectural characteristics, as most of the buildings are from the same period. Today Telheiras is a middle/upper-class neighbourhood, although it was initially planned as an affordable modern residential quarter, targeted at different social groups. The architecture planning is linear, sober and organic, the buildings come together and display little, if any, ornamentation. Much like the United Kingdom’s New Towns (circa 1940’s-1960’s) and brutalist architecture (mid 1950’s-1960’s).
It is interesting to note that, when planning this new quarter, there was a concern to projecting the buildings facing two sides: one, facing the street and the roads and the other side facing shared green spaces, thus transforming the relationship between the residents and their surroundings.
The area was designed with a formal uniformity, based on prefabricated exterior wall panels supported by traditional concrete structures, giving a sense of rigour and discipline in appearance, colour, treatment and texture.
This neighbourhood has always been familiar to me - where my grandmother lives since the seventies and it's where my mother and uncles grew up and had their "neighbourhood friends" - something that almost seems to have disappeared from many cities. Although that social interaction is mainly generational and not particular to specific quarters, it always struck to me as somehow stronger in Telheiras. This was why I decided to pursue this particular project. To me this ‘peculiarity’ had to have some connection with the architectural project.
And it did: building apartment blocks facing two sides (the road and the green spaces), it was possible to create safe, familiar, parks that the residents could enjoy without having to face the street, thus somewhat deconstructing the usual idea of city. Despite the appalling lack of friendly green areas in the cities and a profusion of available indoor activities, Telheiras tried to counter this tendency.
With these considerations as the starting point, I tried to explore which ways the architecture and its relation to the natural environment, came together to create such a particular area. The buildings proved to be a true labyrinth, ideal for children's play, and also as a paradigm of the public and the private. That is, the only real private space is the interior of the apartments, all the rest is a playground. It was in this playground that I lost myself and that I realised how architecture can intervene (in this case, for the better) and help create certain conditions in our day to day lives.
