Porto a2 jr,ls

ROZANSKI & SUAREZ ASSOCIATES

LUIS LOPEZ SUAREZ & JAKUB ROZANSKI

is our urban strategy for Porto’s eastern slopes between the two city’s Eiffel bridges; ‘Ponte Dom Luiz I’ and ‘Ponte D. Maria Pia’, running down to the banks of the river Douro.

Our main aim is to attract a new, young and skilled population, transforming the site into a new hub for creative industries and a leading region for the development of their innovative talent, helping them explore new ways of communication and production.

After all, creativity is not only a basic element of human existence with the capacity to open new fronts of activity and development but, through the industries it catalyses, can also provide greater possibilities for success through originality and inventive power

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CONTENTS 01 _ site 02 _ context 03 _ design development 04 _ masterplan 05 _ precedents 06 _ environmental strategy 07 _ cost appraisal 4

01 _ site

Porto, Portugal

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bird eye view _ Dos Guindais & Fontainhas, Porto

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The area subject to study is a rather deprived area, where the dense “barrios” of Dos Guindais and Fontainhas are located. Currently very underused and underdeveloped, despite its proximity to the city centre, its main feature is its extreme terrain. The land is traversed by railway lines and bridges and includes many derelict slum housing and allotments, in addition to those, which have become recently regularized. The site also possesses a strong local community as well as interesting relationships to the wider context of the river valley, the highly successful tourist destination of Ribeira, and the generous public realm known as the ‘Alameda das Fontainhas’. It also includes some urban fabric of notorious historic value, such as the original city wall or the landmark of the Salesian college and its adjacent cemetery.

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02 _ context

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During the development of our strategy, we considered a variety of contextual aspects of different natures, such as historical, physical, economical, demographical, etc., all of which will inform, to some extent, the final scheme.

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Context _ history 12

Our site was once a vibrant and highly built-up location with plenty of waterfront infrastructure, as it can be seen from aerial views dating back to 1958, after the city’s industrious development during the 18th and 19th century saw this region grow considerably in population and activity.

This bygone condition served, in fact, as a model for the proposed masterplan itself, meaning the general arrangement of the building blocks across the challenging topography, their elongated typography and the position of these, often mimicked the built environment of the past. In a similar way that the vivid waterfront that once was, served as a direct inspiration for the new promenade element featured within the scheme, whose main mission is to recover and strengthen the relation with the water, re-establishing some of the activity that had been lost along the river edge during the 20th century, bringing back the connection with the water.

Site Analysis _ initial study

Edge Road (top)

Functioning railway

Fontinhas

Empty land

Empty land Derelict railway

Funicular

Av. Gustafe Eiffel

Dos Guindais

green areas _ empty land

residential areas _ districs

key routes _ movement

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Context _ physical

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Three existing physical features located at the top, middle, and bottom sections of the site were identified as key elements to consider during the design process and which we propose to physically extend across the whole area.

At the bottom, the Ribeira, currently a lively place full of activity and a habitual tourist destination, is capable of attracting millions all year round but its influence terminates at the ‘Ponte Dom Luiz’ where its ‘life’ is deviated across the water to Gaia or back into the city.

At the top, the ‘Alameda das Fontainhas and its clear semi-circular heart, where several roads meet and with a notable historical presence, constitutes a strong edge to the site and a buffer zone between this and the ‘top city’ but fails to stretch the total length of the site.

Midway between these two areas lies the derelict remains of the Porto- Povoa railway line, which, at present time, provide a useful levelled platform within the escarpment with an obvious potential to become a transversal connection across the whole site

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Topography _ section through existing landscape 01

SITE SECTION 1 : 200

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Topography _ section through existing landscape 02

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Rua do Sol

Rua de Gomes Freire

Rua do General Sousa Dias

Avenida Gustavo Eiffel Bridge Tunnel Primary Road Secondary Road Tertiary Road Main Junctions

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Site analysis _ roads and main traffic

Alameda das Fontainhas

Calcada das Carquejeiras

Escada dos Guindais

Cais da Ribeira

Railway Derelict Railway Primary Path Secondary Path Tertiary Path

Site analysis _ pedestrian and railway access

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Built Environment Derelict Buildings

Site analysis _figure plan and derlic buildings

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Context _ economical & political Considering, the on-going global economic decline and, of course, the high unemployment levels and limited prospects for growth it has produced, and to which Porto is obviously not immune to, it’s now crucial to develop urban strategies that address these issues and provide viable solutions. On those terms, Creative industries have been seen to become increasingly important to economic well-being and are now considered vital drivers for the generation of wealth and employment.

Although the economy of Porto has always been more closely connected with commerce, the number of creative industries in the centre of Porto today suggest that a process of consolidation of a new creativity based economy is taking place, with up to 53% of these enterprises (and the complementary spaces related to them establishing within the last decade.

Our urban design scheme, as direct response to this negative financial scenario, aims to further stimulate the aforementioned trend by promoting the creation of a creative cluster, attracting initiatives which maximize its values and potential as natural habitat for these type of enterprises. We hope this will transform the place into an attractive, energetic and avant-garde location, boasting cultural and entrepreneurial development, and supporting both individuals and communities based on flexible business models that use creativity as a generator and therefore, provide greater possibilities for success.

Porto is now experiencing a symptomatic and crucial time in its history. Its newly elected ruler, Rui Moreira, insists that cultural tourism will be one of the economic engines of the future of Porto, and describes his political programme as having three main pillars: social cohesion, economic growth and culture, which he believes links the previous two together. And it’s on these three pillars too, that we believe the political basis of our own scheme lies, and that our proposed creative district, will achieve the same, at its own scale, complementing other initiatives with similar aspirations elsewhere in the city

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Context _ demographics

327, 000 in 1981

302,472 in 1990

263,131 in 2001

237, 591 in 2011

The contextual consideration that influenced the scheme the most and therefore defined the overall concept and theme of the project, was Porto’s current demographic situation. Due to a severe regressive trend occurring over the last 30 years, the city has seen its population decreased from it’s peak figure reached during the 1980’s of over 327,000 residents, down to 237, 591. A negative evolution which, combined with an unusual aging phenomenon, with the elder population more than doubling that of the young since 2001, has resulted in a notable loss of strength and leadership for the city. and rendered our bottom line objective to attract a new young population to the given site and provide the basis for achieving our aforementioned aim.

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03 _ Design development ‘The city finds its river’ _ initial

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‘nodes’

> Allow for interaction between permanent occupants and visitors > Reorient the city life and functions towards its river

> Create a connection between the historical, present and future city of Porto through strong identity, diveristy and permeability

urban strategy

> Re-establish the top - middle - bottom - river connection

> Provide more life and ‘opportonities’ to people 25

Initial zoning _ creative industries and infrastructure

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The project prides itself on focusing on the development of the arts and culture that inspires co- working by coordinating events for young people and local community gatherings

youth cultural centre _ as a center of youth community life and enterprise

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Create an urban network, that will visually stitch together various circulation spaces into a cohesive and easily recognizable movement surface.

Proposing a connective and activated public realm _“the

spaces between�

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Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) design for “a flowering meadow with seasonal grasses, a sprawling field and a triangular wooden viewing platform” “This spectacular structure will provide much-needed shade and a unique space for public events, while offering a dramatic ascent to the water’s edge,

Precedent _BIG Designs Pier 6 Viewing Platform for Brooklyn’s Waterfront 30

Foster + Partners and Berg Arkitektkontor of C.F. Møller Architects, have been appointed to design a masterplan for the heart of Stockholm, transforming the waterfront area of Slussen from an urban aberration to a popular destination. The proposal will bring new life to the area, linking the islands of SÜdermalm and Gamla Stan and stripping away the layers of history to reclaim a valuable city quarter.

Precedent _Slussen Masterplan, Stockholm by Foster + Partners 31

Design development 32

_ 4 node exploration

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Design development

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_ promenade, gateway to the youth distric

Design development

_ resource hub, information landscape

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Design development

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_ forum of curiosity

Design development

_ interchange, new train station

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04 _ masterplan development In order to achieve our goal of creating a new youth district or hub for creative industries, we designed a scheme consisting on a series of nodes with specific functional programmes along a triad of transversal routes, constituting three separate, yet interrelated “worlds�, with unique characters and purposes.

LIVE PLAY

LEARN

EARN

MAKE SHARE

Our vision consists, therefore, on a place where a newly established youth can live, learn, make, share, earn and play. This, we believe will give the area a new lease of life, with its own unique, energetic, and vibrant identity, all of which will be attained through the application of a series of clear architectural strategies:

Reconverting the existing urban fabric for its re-inhabitation Creating a hub for the acquisition of knowledge and distribution of resources Introducing new workspaces and studios Establishing a centralized space to exhibit finalized productions Setting up a communal space for networking purposes Putting in place facilities to drink, eat, meet and relax

In an attempt to deliver an urban strategy that is both realistic and viable in its political-reversing aspirations, we envisioned the establishment of the proposed district occurring gradually and evolving through time, slowly changing the political and economical nature of the area through a series of phases. Mimicking the way Porto’s urban fabric shaped itself originally, constantly reacting to both adversities and opportunities almost like a living entity, slowly changing the political and economical nature of the area through a series of phases.

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Forum of Curiosity Home of Creatives

Estac達o: Distrital da Juventude

Factory of Talents Port達o: Distrital da Juventude

masterplan proposal

_ nodes

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masterplan proposal

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_ phase 1

masterplan proposal

_ phase 2

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masterplan proposal

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_ phase 3

masterplan proposal

_ phase 4

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masterplan _ Home of Creatives , Factory of Talents

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masterplan _ Forum of Curiosity, Estac達o: Distrital da Juventude

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Alameda das Fontainhas

Calcada das Carquejeiras

Rua do Sol

Rua de Gomes Freire

Escada dos Guindais

Rua do General Sousa Dias Cais da Ribeira

Avenida Gustavo Eiffel Proposed Primary Path Proposed Secondary Path

Bridge Tunnel Primary Road Secondary Road Tertiary Road Railway

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The need to improve, enhance and increase existing pedestrian routes throughout the scheme is something we tried to tackle by creating three main axis stiched together by a network of routes, and thus improving the overall connectivity of the whole proposal.

analysis _ proposed pedestrian

Serralves

Casa da Musica

Trindade Campanha Almeida Garret

CPF

Sao Bento

Historic Archive

Funicular

Estacão: Distrital da Juventude

Factory of Talents

Home of Creatives

The proposed nodes and their specific functions introduced along the “three worlds” not only create new connections between the different levels, but also become new additions to the city’s general network of activities.

newtwork _ proposed cultural and transport network - porto

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visualisation _ middle world 50

visualisation _ promenade 51

visualisation _ promenade gateway 52

visualisation _ youth cultural centre 53

Creative precedents _ examples of best practice

Two cities (Barcelona and Berlin) were closely explored on the basis of having established successful creative-industry districts and for constituting outstanding benchmarks in terms of achieving that which we hope to achieve with our own scheme.

In Barcelona, strong strategies have been put forward to build up a creative city model through the action of different initiatives committed to innovation. Here, the private sector, has adopted a leadership role and assumed risks receiving support from different administrations that showed honest beliefs on the added values that creative industries can provide to cities and demonstrated a clear intention to progress towards their establishment. This dual commitment to a shared vision has become a reality through the promotion of policies that have favoured the creation of creative clusters.

Due to Barcelona’s historical role in the creativity sector within Catalonia and the broader area of Spain, the city offers great opportunities for the implementation a range of supporting initiatives nowadays, some of which include, creating built environments, supporting entrepreneurs and promoting their projects, aiding the internationalization of such enterprises and fomenting networking activities, and creating of clusters with both public and private presence.

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Creative precedents _ barcelona

Currently, and as a direct consequence of these, Barcelona’s creative scene features a wide range of projects covering a variety of fields, such as: The CREAMEDIA Program (Barcelona Activa), which offers learning courses on business plans and management, as well as personal tutorship.

The Barcelona/Catalunya Film Commision, which helps to coordinate film shoots in the city and all over the region.

The Creation Factories (Institute Of Culture Of Barcelona), which have created a network of spaces for artistic activity distributed along all the districts of the city.

The FAD Incubator, which offers scholarships for young professionals in the fields of design, architecture, arts and graphic communication fields in order to facilitate their beginnings in the professional life.

The Barcelona Media Park, which offers technical spaces dedicated to the research and the continuous occupational training as well as public and private initiatives focused on the media sector, The Barcelona Design Innovation Cluster (BDIC), which brings innovative companies seeking or offering design services together, as well as helping organizations and public bodies to increase competitiveness in sectors where design is a strategic element and a driver.

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Creative precedents _ berlin

Berlin represents a national and global centre of creative industries, with more than 24,000 companies with 170,000 employees working in this still fast growing sector, and constitutes a leading region for film, TV, music, fashion design, fine art, performing arts, advertising, architecture, software and videogames. This makes this metropolis by the river Spree as attractive for representatives of all creative fields as it can get and has resulted in many of the market’s key players opening their headquarters within it.

Young Creatives from all around the globe are attracted by the city’s cosmopolitan, tolerant, open-minded and exciting atmosphere and perhaps most important of all, its affordability. With 23.2% of all inhabitants being under 25, the city is subject to constant reinvention and plays leading global role in the realm of innovation. A fact which, combined with its 477,000 foreign inhabitants from 195 different nations, results in a highly diverse and extremely culturally rich metropolis.

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Creative precedents _ berlin

Also known as the “City of Design” its considered an international meeting place for global businesses, hosting numerous industrial events, well-known festivals, exhibitions and large conferences every year, such as: The International Film Festival (Berlinale) The International Design Festival (DMY) The Berlin Fashion Week The International Art Forum The Popkomm The IFA In addition Berlin also counts with a vast variety of educational facilities that offer specialised creative programmes to tens of thousands of students and young professionals every year, amongst which we could highlight the following: The University of Arts The Media Design School The Games Academy The German Film and TV Academy.

As an acknowledgement of the importance of creative industries for Berlin’s economy, the city’s government has been developing strategies, and support programs for many years now. Various sector-specific networks, platforms and projects have been set up to maintain and further develop the city’s leading role in this sector, making this kind of enterprises as essential in Berlin’s future development. And, through an extensive range of consulting, funding, incubation and support opportunities, plus the overall amounts of time and money being invested, is guaranteed that it would hold and even strengthen its position as a creative capital for years to come.

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environmental strategy _

prefabrication

Our proposal aims to provide sustainable value and improve the overall environmental awareness of the scheme by utilizing locally produced prefabricated units. These represent great part of the development at its earliest phases, constituting cheap and reusable workspaces with very low values of embodied energy designed to both lower the construction costs and reduce their impact on the exiting environment. The flexibility levels attained through it should result in infinite possibilities of rearrangement and updating to fit specific needs of their inhabitants, endlessly adapting over time and making the best possible use of the available space.

The units, manufactured at local factories and transported to the site using the river will be assembled from a kit of parts on arrival to the site and hoisted into place, reducing not only the labour costs and reducing CO2 emissions but also generating less waste of materials This method would also provide considerable savings in terms of man and machine power, as well as time consumption, reducing the overall financial costs but more importantly, decreasing the general environmental impact of the construction phase.

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environmental strategy _

a case study

Zuidas Business District in Amsterdam, a 270 hectare site proposed to be converted into a new urban centre devoted to international commerce and knowledge development and aspiring to become among the top ten sustainable urban centres by the year 2030. This case study informed specific design decisions and strategies within the proposal, serving as a real example of sustainable achieve¬ments in urban design.

Requirements will be imposed on the building’s performance and construction methods of every individual development within the mas¬terplan making the use of sustainable materials mandatory, as these offer flexibility as well as the possibility to be recycled at a later date.

Heating and climate control systems, helping to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, would be included in all new buildings to further reduce the overall Co2 emissions. Some of these include the use of underground heat storage combined with heat exchang¬ers, in addition to communal air-conditioning systems, in which cold water from the nearby river is used to bring the cooling water in the closed system to the right temperature.

Traffic across the new built environment by means of traditional fuelled vehicle such as cars has been notably minimized throughout the scheme prioritizing both pedestrian routes and cycle lanes, and therefore encouraging the use of environmentally friendly ways of transportation, resulting in a dense, pedestrian-friendly development with high levels of air-quality.

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cost appraisal

Retail / Commerce

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_ masterplan

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