A Project with Many Dates. Fernando Távora, Santa Cruz and Sansão Square in Coimbra

José António Bandeirinha

doi:10.6092/issn.2611-0075/19799

Authors

José António Bandeirinha Departamento de Arquitectura – Centro de Estudos Sociais Universidade de Coimbra

José António Bandeirinha graduated in 1983 as an architect from the Escola Superior de Belas-Artes of Porto. Currently he is full professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Coimbra, where he completed his PhD in 2002 entitled “The SAAL process and the architecture in April 25th 1974”. Having as main reference architecture and the organisation of space, he has been dedicating his work to several subjects — city and urban condition, housing, cultural studies. From 2007 until 2011 he held the position of Pro-rector for cultural affairs at the University of Coimbra, and from 2011 until 2013 he was the Director of the College of the Arts at the University of Coimbra. In 2012 he curated the exhibition “Fernando Távora Permanent Modernity”, coordinated by Álvaro Siza. He was the scientific consultant of the exhibition “The SAAL Process Architecture and Participation 1974-1976”, curated by Delfim Sardo and organized by the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Oporto, Portugal, in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal, Canada (2014-2015). He is a senior researcher at the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra. He held the position of director of the Department of Architecture at the University of Coimbra from 2002 until 2004, from 2006 until 2007, and from 2017 to 2021. José António Bandeirinha had been continuously working on the urban and architectural consequences of political procedures, mainly focusing on the Portuguese 20th century’s reality.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2611-0075/19799

Keywords:

Távora, Sansão Square, Coimbra, Heritage, Urban Design

Abstract

This text seeks to relate Fernando Távora’s urban design of Sansão Square, in Coimbra, with the social, cultural and material conditions that surrounded it and, above all, with some particular characteristics of Távora’s mindset regarding his own design practice.

On examining the process, it becomes abundantly clear that the relationship between the developer, the supervisors, the architect and the builder was far from balanced. Fernando Távora submitted the preliminary project for approval in April 1993. From then until construction was completed, by the end of 1997, a myriad of problems arose during the natural development of the project: from delays in formalising the contract, to successive disagreements over the choices of materials, or even the attempt to include different elements from the approved project. Without any kind of concessions to the traditionalist way, Távora sets out on the 8 de Maio Square project — one of his dearest, in his own words — with full awareness that historical reposition is not something to be searched for, under the dust of a thousand circumstances, it is not something flexible that could be adapted to the occasion, under risk of losing its tie to the truth.

Finally, we intend to reflect on the meaning of time and space limits in design practice and in the final result of architecture. The duration of a project, of a work, time itself, is not, never has been and never can be a condition for inclusion or exclusion in any category.

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References

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A Project with Many Dates. Fernando Távora, Santa Cruz and Sansão Square in Coimbra

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