132 - Álvaro Siza and the contemporary university values of university architecture *

 

The exceptionality of university buildings has been seldom addressed by the 20th Century World Heritage, in contrast with the plan and architecture of Brasilia by Lúcio Costa and Óscar Niemeyer, or the serial nominations of selected works of Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright and Josef Plecnik. Nevertheless, the program and typology of university campus were particularly developed after the World War II, expressing a cultural symbol of the educational standards evolution, through the last century (Edwards, 2000; Calvo Sotelo, 2009).

This paper aims to discuss the possible differential values of the Porto School of Architecture (FAUP), building upon previous research about other four university centres and environments, built in the same period and cultural framework, in the Iberian Peninsula region. For this purpose, qualitative approach has been applied, through the study of architectural designs and their interrelation with the campus, the urban landscape, with similar program and scale. The scope of the analysis was the 2nd criterion of the operational guidelines for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, exhibiting a significant exchange of human values, over a period or within a cultural area, on developments in Architecture, Urbanism or Landscape.

The project for FAUP started around four decades ago and reflects an original example of Álvaro Siza design thinking methodology. Years later, he built the Santiago de Compostela School of Communication, and several university buildings, such as the Library of Aveiro, the Rectorate of Alicante or the Pedagogical School of Setúbal, among others. Most of the Portuguese and Spanish well-known Architects were influenced by him and have works in the main cities and university campuses of these two countries.

To fulfil that purpose, architectural works have been analysed in the university campus of Coimbra, Guimarães, Vigo and Madrid, by Gonçalo Byrne, Fernando Távora, Alfonso Penela and Alberto Campo Baeza, respectively. The analysis focused on the values of urban integration, the program distribution and the construction, respecting the classical Vitruvian triad. As it occurs with FAUP, the other exemplars are placed in urban development areas, with an irregular environment, and somehow an eccentric relation with city centres (Angelillo, 1998; Penela, 2004; Fernandes, 2013; Campo Baeza, 2021).

The analysis carried out confirms that these works are relevant contemporary heritage of university architecture, either at local, regional or international level. However, they do not assertively demonstrate the same remarkable values as the Campus of Siza. Indeed, several critical readings have already confirmed the exceptional recognition of FAUP’s cultural significance, a built manifesto of a contemporary design culture, which has taken root and constitutes a milestone worldwide (DGPC, 2022), according to the report of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, which classifies this masterpiece as a National Monument.

The urban design for a new aesthetic symbol in the landscape of the river Douro, as well as the genius of the author to guide the user between the buildings and exterior areas of the old Quinta da Póvoa, all completed and maintained by his hand, confer indisputable differential values, integrity, authenticity, and a unique architectural and landscape character. Nonetheless, more recently, the project for a new metro bridge nearby raised questions about aesthetic and environmental impacts. The competition was wined by architect José Carlos Nunes Oliveira, who gained experience precisely by working at Álvaro Siza’s office.

Alvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto Moura were invited to work on the urban (re)design, when the metro line faces the limits of the University property. In fact, the intervention by the author contributes directly to reduce the risk of disfiguring its cultural significance. In this sense, it is expected that FAUP will maintain his unique character and value, as a complete masterpiece that builds by itself a university campus.

The study concludes by discussing what shall be the limits of acceptable change in such properties and their intricate relationship with the urban landscape. Lastly, in terms of the contemporary heritage governance, some Portuguese cultural institutions, as Casa da Arquitectura, already promote the cultural tourism of Álvaro Siza architecture, mainly his earlier works in the municipality of Matosinhos, the well-known Tea House and Marés Pool. Complementary, the Porto City Council started to implement strategies that may decentralize the urban economy beyond the historical areas (CMP, 2024).

Finally, the FAUP building as a lively place, whose educational environment is surrounded by other research units, has also already demonstrated competences to design and maintain their own heritage management plan (Ferreira & Fernandes Rocha, 2017). All the interventions in Campo Alegre by Álvaro Siza are a lesson of architecture and present a challenge for future readings regarding the contemporary university campus.

* Artigo redigido em co-autoria com o Doutor Bruno Andrade (REMIT-UPT) e a Prof.ª Goreti Sousa (CIAUD-UPT), apresentado na conferência final do projeto FCT SizaAtlas: Filling the gaps for World Heritage, dia 12 de setembro de 2024 na FAUP. Este projeto foi coordenado pelas Professoras Soraya Genin (ISCTE), Mariana Correia (UPT) e Teresa Ferreira (FAUP).