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Porto. TIMELAPSE Douro Promenade.

Revitalization of embankment section of the river Douro in Porto, Portugal

Master degree, Cracow University of Technology

Best 20

master degree

2015

Cracow University

of Technology

Faculty of Architecture and Urban Science

Master degree project Porto.TIMELAPSE Douro Promenade was awarded as a one of the best 20 diploma project of year 2015 at Faculty of Architecture at Cracow University of Technology and Urban Science, present at the exhibition Architecture in the arts at the Palace of Fine Arts in Cracow.

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CONTENT

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City. Surroundings.

Scenic points. Dominants

Location. Accesibility. Planning condition

Architecture. Idea.

Porto. TIMELAPSE

Building functional system

Building structure. Materials

Project visualizations & sketches

Architectural model review. Photo & Video

Functional Description. City

Functional description of location. City

Porto – the City in which the tradition meets the modernity. The space for life of almost 1 500 000 people. The second city ranking in the size in Portugal which is the main cultural centre of the northern part of the country and also a flourishing trade centre, effectively connecting the urban turmoil with the genuine charm. The City, picturesquely placed on the river Douro in the mountainous region called Portugal Norte, with amazing history and inheritance, full of cloisters and churches, towering over the city. The colourful facades of the buildings (often covered with azulejos), small cafe and climatic restaurants, narrow streets with dark passages – all that makes that a walk is here a real pleasure. In 2011 Porto was chosen as the European Capital of Culture and its historical inheritance was entered into the List of World Heritage UNESCO.

The historical city of the centre is composed of the main marketplace in front of the City Hall called Praça da Liberdade on which numerous city festivities and cultural events take place. The geometrical centre of Porto is constituted by the square (Praça de Mouzinho de Albuquerque) at Casa da Musica – the building of the project Rem Koolhasa in which the main concert hall of the city is located therre. At present, however one can observe the creation of the next cultural centre of Porto along the left and a part of the right bank of the river Douro.

LOCAL CONTEXT

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Porto - city photographs

Porto - location photographs

Functional description of location. River Douro – surroundings

Along the left bank of the river, there are wine warehouses which name – porto – comes from the name of the city. Because of the increasing number of tourists coming to the city and also the increase of number of people who want to visit the wine caves, on the left bank of the river an infrastructure was generated ensuring many attraction to the tourists. Starting from trips across the wine caves and ending with journeys on barges along the river Douro.

Additionally the quay was modernized and was subject to revitalization. The area was cleaned and care was taken about the elements of the small architecture. The old tenement houses started to live, opening the cafes and restaurants. Along the river bank, a few times in the week, antiques and arts and crafts markets are held. The landscape is dominated by the wooden barges of many producers of the famous liquid with high masts, designed once for transportation of wine along the river. Nowadays, they become a tourist’s attraction and a characteristic element of the city panorama.

The biggest dominant of the urban section of the river is the two-level steel bridge Ponte Dom Luis I being a symbol of the industrial age of the city, designed by the Belgian engineer Teophile Seyrig, the student of Gustave Eiffel. Long for almost 400m, the steel bridge was open in 1886. It connected Porto with the city on the other side of the river Douro. Weighting over 3000 tons at that time it was on the top technical achievements. It constitutes passage both for cars and urban transport including metro. Its open-work construction allows for admiring the city panorama without obstacles.

The latest attraction of the left bank of the river is the cable railway Teleferico de Gaia commissioned in 2011. It connects the Praça da Super Bock, Cais de Gaia, and Jardim do Morro at Avenida da República. The main station of the railway is located just only near the bridge Dom Luis’a I.The modern cubical solid of the building with facades made of architectonic concrete fully harmonizes with the environment, not dominating the space around.

Panorama of Porto city. The view from the observation deck at the Cloister Serra do Pilar, at the side of Vila Nova de Gaia. The view onto the Bridge Ponte Dom Luis I, the bend of the river Douro and the historical part of the city.

(photo by Natalia Porys)

The right bank of the river and namely the area from Praca da Ribeira to the pedestal of the bridge Ponte Dom Luis I is dominated by numerous cafes, restaurants and pubs created mainly thinking of the tourists. They are situated in the place of former storage of the fishing mainly thinking of the tourists. They are situated in the place of former storage of the fishing boats. The square Plac da Ribeira alone is one of the oldest places of Porto. The remarks about it were entered in the statutes of 1389. In its middle, a fountain with coat of arms of the rulers of Porto stands. There is a cubical sculpture – Cubo da Ribeira is placed. For long centuries, the square was the place of trade of fish, meat or bread. The buildings surrounding the square did not avoid fires and many reconstructions. Today, the entire place looks remarkably climatic and attracts tourists from all over the world. In the summer time, the environment is dominated by white umbrellas and stalls with souvenirs. Despite a spacious chaos during the tourist season peak, the area is ordered and also diversified by elements of small architecture.

Functional description. Scenic points, dominants

Functional description of location. Scenic points.

Because of mountainous shape of the area, Porto has got many scenic points from which you can admire the city panorama. Along the river, one can distinguish the most important ones:

Scenic points

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Functional description of location. Dominants.

The coastal area is featured by the great number of important objects for the history of the city, constituting at the same time the symbols of Porto. Because of their capacity, one can distinguish:

- Ponte Dom Luis I

- Cloister Serra do Pilar

- Bishop Palace at the cathedral Sé - the remains of the city defensive walls

- Ponte do Infante

Functional description of location. Location.

The area of the design intervention covers the site located at the right bank of the river Douro just beside the bridge Ponte Dom Luis I along the street Av. de Gustavo Eiffel. The subject land lot is a connection of the road and water lots. The trump card of this land lot is that it is situated in close distance from the historical gives it a representative character.

The site for the designed building is unbuilt. A series of tenement houses of number of floors from 2 to 7 neighbours the land lot. Those are houses of historical character (estimated date of construction 1720) with facades typical for this region of Porto, covered by characteristic tiles azulejos in the white and blue and white and orange colours. In the facades of the houses, stone decorations dominate and a great number of balconies. The ground floors of the houses in a prevailing part are not used. The buildings have superstructures which were made in the years after 1920. In the farther part of the area, there are ruins after the former buildings and not ordered wildly growing greenery. This is an area of the southern exposition, partially shadowed depending on the daytime by Ponte Dom Luis I dominating the environment. Along the both sides of the street, a parking for cars is located for parallel parking.

Functional description of location. Location

Functional description of location. Accesses.

The area of the design intervention thanks to its position just at the characteristic urban objects which are the frequent goal of tourists is perfectly communicated. From the west, it constitutes the elongation of one of the most frequently visited streets/ walkways of the city (Cais da Ribeira) both by the local society and the tourists. From midday it neighbours the bridge Ponte Dom Luis I, through which the road was designed for the road traffic and for pedestrian and bicycle traffic. From the northern-eastern side, an access is ensured going across the hillside, from the northern side just at the Ponte Dom Luis I along the site, a small railway goes uphill and goes to Rua Arnaldo Gama and stairs lead to R. Miradouro and Escada dos Guindais going to one of the main crossings of the streets R. de Saraiva do Carvalho, R. de August Rosa and R. do Gen. Sousa Dias at which a station of the metro Batalha is located.

Functional description of location. Driveways.

The area is provided with two direct driveways to the building, the first one – from the street Cais da Ribeira, predicted for goods vehicles) (load capacity – max . 3,5t) from the western side under the bridge Ponte Dom Luis I, directly at the gate for supplies to the stores, for this purpose a space was designed for temporary parking during the hours of supplies, and the second driveway – from Av. De Gustavo Eiffelwas predicted on the eastern end of the building, designed also for goods vehicles (load capacity - max. 3,5t) with a driveway directly for the personal and freight crane and also in this case a space was predicted for temporary parking during the hours of supplies. Apart from that, 55 parking places belong to the building along the Av. De Gustav Eiffel designed for parallel parking including 5 booked for disabled persons.

Functional description of location. Planning condition.

The area of the design intervention on the Local Land Use Plan is marked with orange colour as the zone of conservation protection. It means that any changes concerning the location such as possibility of construction, architectural form of the object and its function will have to be consulted with the City Historical Preservation Officer. This area does not have an imposed concrete form of the building and materials which would be used for its building and finishing.

The subject. Architectural idea

Object form

The subject. Architectural idea.

The symbolism of Porto is very wide. However because of the closeness of the river Douro which was once one of the main trade routes, it was decided to make reference to the form to the barge, being previously the only transport means for wine porto from the entire valley of the river Douro to the wine caves located at the side of Vila Nova de Gaia.

Due to esthetical and spatial aspects, it was decided that the new building by its height did not exceed the first floor of the neighbouring buildings. The designed object thanks to wide passages, observation decks and correct building solid fully fits into the quay. The designed mini-marina in the eastern part of the complex breaks the contrast between the river and the building. It allows the water to penetrate almost inside the object, making the subsequent attraction and creating the new possibilities of using the space.

A popular form of spending the free time at the riverside, especially in case of elder people is the avocational fishing. Thanks to the separated space just beside the marine, one can find place also for this entertainment. In case of younger people, at present the street–running is the common form of spending the free time especially in the evening hours.
For this purpose, it was designed many passages and walkways, favouring the practicing of this sport. As intended, the building alone was to perform the role among others of the next interesting scenic point for surrounding tourist and cultural attraction. Hence the highly horizontal form originated with a great number of passages, accesses and observation decks, a big number of benches and sitting places. The fantastic location and scenic openings induce opening of the building to the environment what is possible because of the protective glazed walls located at each floor of the building. The vertical partitions of protective walsl fully balance the horizontal form of the building, giving a human dimension to the useful area inside and outside the object.

One of the main design assumptions was the activation of this city space and ensuring of the continuity of the quay.

The leitmotif of the project was the active solid i.e. such one of which one can make use both outside and inside, enabling the movement along each horizontal plane and adequately designed communication facilitating the movement between the levels of the surfaces.

The functional program of the building will foresee a series of main functions:

Museum of Porto. TIMELAPSE, exhibition space, cafe, restaurant, rooms with commercial space, a complex of conference rooms, tourist information at the level -2 and 0 and also such auxiliary functions as the storage space at the level -1 and -2, toilets, sets of passenger and freight lifts, economic business and social rooms.

Design objectives

The subject. Porto TIMELAPSE.

It was designed in the form of open space with mobile partition walls, fully multimedial with application of modern exhibition technologies as much as possible bring the history and culture of city Porto to the visitors. The main motif of the museum is the TIME AXIS i.e. TIMELAPSE. In the intention, it has to introduce the history of Porto and the changes carried out in it not only cultural but also spatial from the most ancient Times through the Manueline period, the reign of Salazar up to nowadays. In the museum it was decided to include the modern technologies in the field of exhibitions. The multimedia and interactive solutions appear also in more and more numerously generated centres of science where the ban „do not touch the exhibits” was replaced by the command „touch, turn, move”. In such a way the Warsaw Science Centre Copernicus operates as well as the Gdynia “Experiment” or Torun Centre of Modernity „Mill of Knowledge”.

The development of the multimedia solutions and their implementation in the modern museums and centres of science are influenced certainly by the fact, that the technologies become cheaper and cheaper, more common and more intuitional in handling. The changes in the exhibitions are then forced by the visitor alone who is accustomed to the touch screens and immediate access to information. The multimedia solutions enable the presenting of knowledge in various way and by that more attractive for the visitor. They allow e.g. to start the machine which cannot be repaired (mapping 3D), animate any picture (augmented reality), adapt the contents to the level of knowledge (personalization e.g. RFiD), precisely examine a monumental object (3D representation), locate an object on the exhibition (indoor GPS). Such solutions do not serve only the entertainment – though they do not exclude it – but facilitate learning and remembering. They do not constitute also a danger for the traditional exhibits but enable the bigger transfer of information about them.

The key to the valuable and at the same time interesting exhibition is the proper balancing of the applied multimedia and selection of technology and scenario of visiting which is adequate to subject matter and character of the exhibition. Each exhibition is unique and each requires an individual approach. In any case one should face different exhibits, different history and different expectations.

Porto TIMELAPSE

Functional and technical description of building. Functional system of the building.

The building consists of three floors including two underground and one above ground.

In the above ground part of the building, a tourist information point was located as well as entrances to the two passenger – freight lifts.

Functional system of the building

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Floor plans & cross-section with contrruction detail; situation map

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At the level -1, storage space was designed additional for the particular functions of the building (conference rooms, exhibition space) and rooms adhering to it for the preservation officer of the building.

The next element of the space is the exhibition area for any arrangement with a view over the river Douro with a possibility of blackout by means of electrically controlled roller blinds of the protective wall. The space designed in the form of an open hall with the possibility of arranging the easels, suspending the pictures or setting of artistic installation. Additionally the space is provided with direct connection with the floor -2 and 0 due to the designed stairs and also elevators behind which a ventilation facility and heat exchange system are located. Just beside a large restaurant was designed with diversely designed arrangement of tables together with dependent back-up facility and kitchen. The restaurant made in the Portuguese climate with azulejos tiles typical for Portugal is maintained in a sky blue and white colouring from which the view also stretches onto the left bank of the river and onto the cloister hill Serra do Pilar. The restaurant can also play the role of a space for any kind of exhibitions or banquets. Apart from that quite a large space in front of the restaurant enables also the arrangement of tables outside and thanks to the additional quite a big entrance doors from the level of the pavement, makes it possible to increase the restaurant space by additional 80 m2.

Close by a complex of toilets was designed (female, male and for disabled people, utility room. The next function predicted in the object at the level -1 are the offices of the management board of the building which complex consists of social room, office for 6-8 persons, secretary’s office, archive and also the office for the object manager. The next planned function is the complex of the conference rooms, consisting of two halls – the smaller one predicted for 35-45 persons and also one bigger with the possibility of division into two smaller ones because of the mechanized system of partition walls. Each hall is designed in such a way to meet the highest standards in the field of new technologies. Also such facilities were predicted as inbuilt projectors, the integrated acoustic systems, tele conference and video conference

systems, the intuitive control systems – touch panels, tables and keyboards, discussion systems and systems of simultaneous translations, and also the automation of control of lighting, heating, ventilation, air conditioning and roller blinds. To the complex of conference rooms, three auxiliary rooms belong: a room for lecturer and social rooms and also cloakroom. Before the conference space, the open space was designed performing the role of foyer. The toilets for the office complex and the complex of conference rooms were predicted together at the end of the corridor just beside the foyer and the entrance for the two passenger – freight lifts and the staircase. For the complex of conference rooms, the storage space was planned, located at the end of the corridor. Apart from that, at the level -1, three separated trade surfaces were predicted for renting, two smaller and one bigger creating a separate part of the building, available from outside. In each of them, a storage was designed and social room for the workers. Each space is provided with large glazing in the form of protective wall.

The level -2 is the main useful level of the building because of the situated there Museum of History of Porto. Timelapse. It contains also the main entrance to the building designed in the western part of the building. Directly at the entrance doors, air curtains were designed to avoid additional vestibule. In the entrance zone, the following functions are located: the system of mechanized cloakroom with the electronic system of searching for the cloths thanks to that, in optimum way the space designated for the cloakroom was used. The unique feature of the system is the possibility of storing a great number of cloths on a conveyor. Asa result, the cloths can be found in a very simple and quick way due to the manual or automatic system of placing the cloths. By using only the keyboard, the operator has the possibility to find a given cloths or place it in an adequate place. The conveyor can be equipped with automatic system of selection, allowing for introduction of the operator’s number of a given cloths position which automatically will be transported to the operator. In this option, there is also possibility to enter several items of cloths simultaneously which will be successfully transported to the operator one by one. Thanks to the precise calculation system, the conveyor always selects the shorter way to deliver the given cloths; the staircase connecting the two levels -1 and -2m composed of 4 runs separated one from another by 3 landings; the monitoring switchboards and the guard rooms, the information point for the entire assumption with utility room; the ticket offices for four persons with utility rooms; complex of toilets (female, male and for disabled persons); rooms for mother with child, utility room); the set of two passenger freight lifts servicing the levels -2, -1, 0 in the hydraulic system without the need to install the shaft bottom and shaft top with the possibility of direct service access and ventilation facility/ heat exchange system adjacent to it; the tourist information (Informações Turísticas do Porto) with the access both from outside and from the inside of the building; shop with souvenirs with adjacent storage/ utility room; control of the entrance into the exhibition space of Porto. TIMELAPSE; the exhibition space designed entirely for the full multimedia Museum of History of Porto. TIMELAPSE, (1.2.1.); the social room for servicing the museum; the air intake for the ventilation system of the object; the second staircase connecting the levels 1 and -2, composed of 4 runs separated one from another with 3 landings, the second set of the passenger – freight lifts, servicing the levels -1, -1 in the hydraulic system without the need to install the shaft bottom and shaft top with the possibility of direct service access; the complex of the toilets (female, male, for disabled persons, a room for mother with child, utility room); a shop with scientific publications, consisting of two rooms; technical backup facility for the exhibition space; café available both from the outside and from the inside of the building together with backup facility, with a dependent kitchen and a space in front of the building belonging to the café with the possibility of arranging the tables on the open space, an air launcher located under the outside stairs of the building.

VISUALIZATION of the entire architectural intervention area with the overlooking view of Dom Luis I bridge

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Building structure materials

Functional scheme

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Functional and technical description of building.

Communication outside and inside the building.

In the building, a vertical communication was predicted in the form of sets of passenger lifts including one set in the western part of the building containing two passenger – freight lifts, servicing 3 floors and one set containing also two passenger –freight lifts, servicing the floors -1 and -2. Additionally two staircases were designed inside the building and 6 runs of stairs divided into four sections separated by three landings outside the building, designedfor moving between the floors of the building and between the terraces and passages. Apart from that in case of external runs of the stairs, one elevator was foreseen for each run of the stairs adapter for transfer of disabled persons. The stairs elevators are devices designed for overcoming the architectural barriers by the disabled persons moving on the wheelchairs. Because of that they have bigger lifting capacity that the stairs chairs, usually from 230 kg to 300 kg. The stair platform has got many protections that the person on the wheelchair could safely to overcome the way between the floors. From the platform also the persons can make use of it, who do not move on the wheelchair. The control system includes the pushbuttons on the platform and for calling the pilots on the wall. The stair platforms are predicted mainly for the use in the places of public utility.

The horizontal communication inside the building will be carried out through indicated communication sequences on open spaces both in case of level -1 and on level -2. Outside the building, the communication will be carried out through the indicated passages, accesses and approaches.

Functional and technical description of building. Building structure.

The subject. Materials.

The leading material of the building is the architectural concrete. Its porous structure and neutral shade perfectly will fit into the neighbouring landscape.It makes also a solution for the newly built object of the station , located on the left bank of Vila Nova de Gaia just at the scenic point in the garden .In case of the station of small railway, the concrete with which both the horizontal surfaces such as passages, accesses and ramps are covered as well as the vertical surfaces such as balustrade, outer and inner walls of the building prove outstanding. It is resistant to atmospheric conditions in the region of the Upper Portugal and also perfectly harmonize with the environment and very well reflects the light which in this latitude is exceptionally intensive and of warm timbre.

It was decided to cover the floors inside the building with an abrasive resistant layer of epoxy flooring. The various and attractive colouring and also the possibility of application of colourful quartz sands allows for using many interesting solutions, also the epoxy flooring give unique character of the inside.

Project Visuals & Sketches