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U.Porto Memory

Rectory Building of the U.Porto

Interior

The building in Praça de Gomes Teixeira houses the Rectory of the U.Porto, the Natural History and Science Museum of the U.Porto formally established in the end of 2015 as the result of the merger between the Science Museum and the Museum of Natural History, both created in 1996, as well as the, as well as the "Old Collection", consisting of a bibliographical collection of works published before 1945.

For 30 years (1976-2006), the Rectory occupied the facilities of the former CICAP headquarters, in Rua de D. Manuel II. This was the time it took between the transfer after the 1974 fire and the rehabilitation of the building in Praça de Gomes Teixeira after the Faculty of Sciences was moved to the new facilities in Campus 3 of the University (Campo Alegre). The engineering and architecture works needed to bring the Rectory back to its original place, and efforts made to adapt the spaces to their new functions, did not cover the entire building. Thus, there are still some areas in need of intervention works, particularly as regards the museums of Science and Natural History.

Porto has many tourist attractions. In the recent past, the increase of tourists is striking, with many visiting the historical centre at any time of the year. This city area has thus regained much of its vitality lost at the turn of the century. The urban settings of the historical building of the U.Porto, surrounded by the high quality of built heritage – for e.g., the Historical Monument of Clérigos, the Jail and Court of Appeal, the churches of Carmo and Carmelitas Descalços, the building of the former Medical-Surgical School, the Santo António Hospital - become a focus of interest and curiosity for all those who walk in downtown Porto, with maps in their hands.

It was precisely the curiosity of tourists, and in particular those who because of the grandeur of the building could not resist a peep into the main court in search of information, which led the Information Management Unit to prepare a brochure in three languages (Portuguese, English and Spanish), which briefly describes the building and the historical background of the U.Porto, listing the Faculties created after 1911 and giving a broad outline of the most important artistic and architectural features. This brochure also mentions the settings of this building in the urban fabric, drawing attention to the garden areas and the buildings surrounding it to the North, South, East and West.

The Neo-classical building, spread horizontally, has been the headquarters of the U.Porto for 100 years, and was described by the architects that rehabilitated it to once again house the Rectory Services:
"[It has a] rectangular plan, about 62 x 88m and 17.5m high. Two patios allow natural light into the building and define the 5 wings into which the building is divided: 4 peripheral wings (north and east, south and west) and an intermediate wing. The elevations follow the classical style, alternating areas of masonry and stucco, topped off with a continuous cornice. At the centre of the north and south elevations, the pediments on pillars mark the main accesses; in the eastern and western elevations have an extensive number of identical spans, organized in two planes that link the ground floor with the mezzanine, and the 3^rd and 4^th floors.
The exterior volume is strictly symmetrical along its major axis (north/south) and does not correspond to the internal organization of the building, where the symmetry is essentially discontinued by the arrangement of some spaces and by the location of the 2^nd grand staircase, which lies at the corner of the east and south wings." (cf. Document prepared in June 2004 by António Portugal & Manuel Maria Reis, arquitetos e associados, Lda).

Today, the Rectory Services are scattered on all 5 floors of the building, occupying mostly the north, east and west wings. But this was not always so! When, in mid-20^th century, the same building housed the faculties of Sciences and Economics, a series of laboratories, institutes and museums, in addition to the general Service Desk of the University and the Rectory itself, the space was too small for its occupants. It is therefore understandable that, in 1953, the Administration of National Monuments in the North referred to the spaces occupied by the rectory as follows:
"The Rectory is located in a neat and tight corner of the Faculty of Sciences building, far from the dignity it deserves as the supreme body of the University, with a high and complex role; in these barely tolerable and few facilities, it is almost impossible for it to fulfil its duties efficiently as the top structure that governs five faculties".

In this context, the transfer of the Faculty of Medicine, located in the old Largo da Escola Médica, to the School Hospital of Porto, built in the area east of the city, looked promising in terms of better and larger facilities. They began to consider the possibility of occupying the space that would be vacant with the museums of the Faculty of Sciences, the institutes of Zoology, Geology and Anthropology, and with the recently created Faculty of Economics. As for the historical building, the intention was to keep the institutes of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, and the Rectory.

In mid-20^th century, the actual Rectory consisted only of a number of areas and services: the hall of the University Senate, the Rector’s office, the office of the University Secretary, a reception room, changing rooms and toilets, in addition to the Library. The need for the general Service Desk to expand increased from year to year, as the number of students enrolled in the U.Porto also increased. The idea was for the Rectory services to occupy the east wing of the building (from its location to the staircase in the south atrium); the general Service Desk and the Accounting Services would also be moved to the 1^st floor, where at the time Mineralogy and its museum were placed, which would in turn move to the 4^th floor to the area occupied by the Faculty of Economics.

They planned to access the Rectory Services, Administrative and Accounting Services and the Service Desk through a side door in the east façade, exclusively for those services. The students and teachers were to use another door, except during vacation time.

A decade later, the Rector of the U.Porto, Professor Manuel Correia de Barros Júnior, complained to the Directorate General for National Buildings saying that "for the general office services – including enrolments, registrations, exam services, certificates, etc., for about 4,000 students of 6 faculties – there is only one very small room, which makes it practically impossible to provide if not an efficient service, at least a bearable one".

The precarious balance was on the verge of rupture: it is no wonder, then, that the announcement that a couple of square meters had been allocated to the general office services was received with joy, after Treasury had been moved to a room on the mezzanine floor.

There have been other improvement works over the years. However, the most important works taking place in the last 100 years of this building were after the 1974 fire, lasting until the 1980s.