Research

In terms of research, activities and projects will be developed within the scope of the Center for Studies in Architecture and Urbanism (CEAU-FAUP) and/or in partnership with the other R&D Units, higher educational institutions, public and private institutions, NGOs, UNESCO Chairs/UNITWIN networks, among others.
 
The UNESCO Chair ‘Heritage, Cities and Landscapes. Sustainable Management, Conservation, Planning and Design’ aims to be a collaborative and proactive platform of cooperation networks in a national and international context.
 
Furthermore, this activity will give also continuity and encouraging partnerships with both public and private stakeholders such as the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage (DGPC), the ICOMOS-Portugal, the UNESCO National Commission, the Porto City Council, among others. The Chair is open to the participation of students, researchers, managers, technical officers and other potential stakeholders.
 
PhD Thesis and Master's Degree Dissertations will be developed within the thematic framework of this Chair.

Keeping It Modern Grant by Getty Foundation | Swimming Pools in Leça, Álvaro Siza

As part of its Keeping It Modern initiative, the Getty Foundation has awarded the Faculty of Architecture - University of Porto (FAUP) a ¤ 100,000 grant to support the development of a conservation management plan for the Swimming Pools in Leça, Álvaro Siza. The project is coordinated by Teresa Cunha Ferreira.
 
This is the first time a project located in Portugal is awarded a grant by the prestigious Keeping It Modern initiative. This is also the final year of project grants for this architectural conservation initiative, launched in 2014 to help professionals worldwide engage in the proactive research and planning needed for the long-term preservation of modern buildings. The project for the study of the Swimming Pools has the support of the Matosinhos City Council.
 
With the overall budget of EUR 1,9 million, the Getty Foundation has awarded only 13 projects within 90 inquiries for the initiative’s largest and most geographically diverse year of applicants.
 
The grant project will take place over the next three years and the proposal seeks to develop a conservation management plan for the swimming pools, based on data collection and documentation on the building’s history and cultural significance, implementation of digital-based integrated methodology of survey, inspection and monitoring, the research on the diagnosis and repair of reinforced concrete, and in the establishment of operative maintenance and user’s  manuals for its long-term preservation.
 
It is thus proposed the establishing of a methodology and template that can be adapted to the other buildings belonging to the Ensemble of Álvaro Siza's Works in the World Heritage Tentative List. Also, being the first 'Keeping It Modern' Planning Grant funded for a project located in Portugal, this proposal could become a modeller example for other modern architecture buildings in the country.
 
The study will be developed by a research team with multidisciplinary competences in the areas of architecture and engineering, coordinated by Teresa Cunha Ferreira (FAUP) and composed by Rui Fernandes Póvoas (FAUP), Paulo B. Lourenço (University of Minhoo) and Ana Tostões (IST-Technical University Lisbon, President of DOCOMOMO Internacional).
 
The project will count with the active participation of Álvaro Siza and ICOMOS-Portugal, as well as the support of the owner, Matosinhos City Council, and the institutional support of Casa da Arquitectura. Finally, the proposal will benefit from the collaboration and participation of other professors and researchers from the Faculty of Architecture - University of Porto, and the involvement of national and international experts with high profile curricula and experience in modern architecture conservation (ICOMOS, DOCOMOMO, Getty Conservation Institute, among others).


Publication | Cescontexto
June 2020
Editors: Adelino Gonçalves, Margarida Relvão (dARQ | CES), Rui Fernandes Póvoas, Teresa Cunha Ferreira (FAUP | CEAU)

Publication | Porto Forum. Heritage, City, Architecture
20th December 2018
Editors: Teresa Cunha Ferreira, Rui Fernandes Póvoas, Francisco Barata Fernandes
Organization: research group Architecture, City and Territory Heritage (PACT - FAUP | CEAU)

Report | Heritage Values | Revision of the Municipal Master Plan of Porto
April 2018
Technical Team: Francisco Barata Fernandes, Lino Tavares Dias, Rui Fernandes Póvoas, Teresa Cunha Ferreira (FAUP | CEAU)

Publicação | Recognising and Managing 20th Century Heritage: Current Issues and Experiences
Junho 2022
Junho 2022
Coordenação: Teresa Cunha Ferreira, Susan Macdonald

Publicação | Restaurer les bétons / Conserving concrete
Junho 2022
Coordenação: Teresa Cunha Ferreira, Bénédicte Gandini