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U.Porto Memory

University of Porto Famous Alumni

Mário Bonito

Mário Bonito 1921-1976 Architect

Mário Ferreira Bonito was born in Porto on 18 March 1921. He was the son of Porfírio Augusto Rebelo Bonito and Adelina Alice Carneiro Ferreira Bonito.

In 1936, he sat the admission exams to the Porto School of Fine Arts [ESBAP] and in 1947 presented the end of course project entitled "Um pavilhão representativo das Ilhas Adjacentes numa Exposição Industrial Portuguesa" [A pavilion representing the Adjacent Islands at a Portuguese Industrial Exhibition]. He then trained at the workshop of Januário Godinho, at the end of which he was awarded the diploma in Architecture, in 1948.

In 1951, at the invitation of Carlos Ramos, who was at the time trying to reform ESBAP, he worked pro bono as Assistant of the Architecture course, but had to leave in 1954 as it was not possible to combine this activity with the work at the General Directorate for Urban Planning.

The decision to admit him to the teaching staff was not an arbitrary one. At the time, Mário Bonito already had a desirable reputation due to the innovative theses he had presented to the 1948 National Congress of Architecture ("Regionalism and Tradition" and "The Tasks of an Architect"), and for designing modern architectural buildings in Porto, for example, the Residencial Ouro Building, no. 47-107 in Fernandes Tomás Street (1950/1954), a rental building project co-authored with Rui Pimentel and shown at the Architecture Exhibition held at the Ateneu Comercial do Porto (1951), and the housing complex "O Lar da Família", in Maestro Miguel Ângelo Street (1950/1955).

Mário Bonito was a member of the Organization of Modern Architects (1948) and is the author of other architectural projects: a building at no. 2501, Fernão de Magalhães Avenue, a building at no. 120-122, Coutinho de Azevedo Street, the building at the corner of Bonfim Street and António Carneiro Street, the office building at the corner of Ceuta Street and José Falcão Street, and Vilares Factory, in Santos Pousada Street, all in Porto. Other projects include the kindergarten and the priest’s house in Santa Maria de Lamas, Vila da Feira, Urros Church, Torre de Moncorvo, and the abattoir of Gondomar.

Mário Bonito had other artistic interests, such as drawing, painting, jazz, ballet and, in particular, cinema. He liked various genres of films, ranging from neo-realist films to North-American comedies and musicals. Some of his favorite films were the drama "Bicycle Thieves", by Vittorio de Sica (1948), films by Giuseppe de Santis and Jean Renoir, the first films by Luchino Viscontti and "Singin in the Rain", by Stanley Donen. His passion for the cinema made him join the Portuguese Cinematography Club – Cine Club do Porto, which he helped direct and for which he wrote film presentations and critiques.

From 1964 on, he settled in Lisbon where he continued to work for the General Directorate for Urban Planning, shared his workshop with his son, Mário Jorge Bonito, and resumed the collaboration with amateur theatrical groups in Lisbon. This connection to the world of acting had begun in Porto, at TEP (Experimental Theatre of Porto), for which he worked as a stage manager and designed décors.

He died in Lisbon on 4 June 1976.
(Universidade Digital / Gestão de Informação, 2010)