Seven buildings for the Lisbon Waterfront

Abstract

Within the scope of the Lisbon and Rio Laboratory of Final Architecture Project 2020/2021, (Integrated Masters Degree in Architecture at Iscte), we proposed to investigate examples of Portuguese contemporary grand projects existing on the waterfront, whose feature was that they are transforming elements of the city of Lisbon. These buildings are often thought to have an immediate architecture, whose valuation derives from their image without reference to the past, the place and the urban environment where they are located. Perceiving that these buildings go beyond their image and that other factors contribute to the urban attractiveness and positive experience of the sites where they are located, the central objective of this investigation was to understand, based on seven case studies, the relationships of belonging with the place, with pre-existing elements, with the public urban space and with the memory of these places. Analysis was based on four topics: the implantation of the building, the relationship with the surroundings, the shape and figure and the scale relationship that it establishes with the pre-existing elements. We conclude that these buildings do not run out on their first appearance. Spatial wealth, combined with public programming and the articulation they establish with public spaces, with pre-existing elements and with the memories of places, point to the undeniable role they play in the organization of a new contemporary landscape of the city, constituting fundamental pieces in the urban, economic and social revitalization of the riverside area of Lisbon.