Housing and Contemporaneity: Recent Renovations in Lisbon's Baixa Pombalina

Catarina Wall Gago

doi:10.52200/55.A.FPR7AWLR

Authors

Catarina Wall Gago École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52200/55.A.FPR7AWLR

Keywords:

Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Modern housing

Abstract

The Plan of 1758 for the reconstruction of Lisbon's Baixa Pombalina followed principles of unparalleled efficiency and regularity. The grid of rectangular urban blocks with pre-designed street façades had a lasting impact on urban identity. Today, the original features of the blocks of flats allow renovation strategies that address changes in domestic life and present-day comfort demands: making use of alcoves and the enfilade to address intimacy; turning kitchens into social areas; using multiple entrances for flat division; introducing lifts according to staircase design. Recent renovations show how the flats' original features contribute to unconventional flexible layouts adapted to contemporary living.

How to Cite

Gago, C. W. (2016). Housing and Contemporaneity: Recent Renovations in Lisbon’s Baixa Pombalina. Docomomo Journal, (55), 66–73. https://doi.org/10.52200/55.A.FPR7AWLR

Published

2016-10-01

Issue

No. 55 (2016): Modern Lisbon

Section

Essays

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Author Biography

Catarina Wall Gago, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

(b. Portugal, 1984). Architect, PhD in Architecture from the Instituto Superior Técnico and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (IST-EPFL). Currently a researcher and a lecturer at the Laboratoire de Construction et Conservation of the EPFL. Her teaching and research work is focused on housing typology and renovation techniques.

References

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