On the 2024 International Urban Design Summer Workshop in Lisbon
By Emma Roeller
Third year, BSCRP; workshop participant.
From Monday June 24 to Friday July 5, 2024, several CRP students participated in the 5th International Urban Design Workshop in Lisbon. Coordinated by CRP Professor Vicente del Rio, this year it was co-taught by professors Fernando Nunes da Silva and Ana Sá Moraes at the Instituto Superior Técnico Lisboa. The workshop focused on the redevelopment potential of a large brownfield (approximately 170 acres) previously occupied by Quimiparque, an industrial complex in Barreiro, a municipality across the Tagus River at a 20-minute ferry ride from Lisbon. The work was integrated to the larger research project Cidade-Tejo that studies the urban interface between the Tagus and Lisbon’s metropolitan region.
The program included 8 Cal Poly CRP students (7 BSCRP juniors and one architect and MCRP graduate), a recent architect from Brazil, a landscape architect from Denmark, and three PhD students from Portugal and Angola. The workshop’s three main tasks were: (1) observing Lisbon’s urban design qualities, (2) analyzing the site and the problem, and (3) generating ideas, followed by a final presentation.
In the first week, divided in four teams and guided by faculty, the group explored (and sketched) Lisbon, learning from its history, urban morphology, architecture, climate, people, and culture. In addition, several professors and collaborators presented on the city, its development, and the Cidade-Tejo research project. During the walks and visits, the students completed Task 1 which consisted in identifying aspects of the city that exemplified the urban design qualities outlined in Vicente del Rio’s article, “Urbanity, the Flâneur, and the Visual Qualities of Urban Design: Walking in Downtown Lisbon, Portugal”. Observations were complemented by sketches, photos, and diagrams helping the participants to learn from their surroundings.
Parts of the first and of second weeks were dedicated to Task 2, a visit to and an assessment of the site and its surroundings, followed by a SWOT analysis focused on accessibility, land uses, buildings, infrastructure, viewsheds, and natural features. The work was documented through sketches, photographs, field notes, and comprehensive maps and diagrams. The remainder of the second week was dedicated to Task 3 when teams focused on concepts and ideas to promote the area’s redevelopment.
All teams produced an overarching vision statement, a set of goals, general ideas, a concept diagram for the entire 170-acres area, and identified an area for a first redevelopment phase for which they produced a scaled illustrative site plan, a schematic section, a volumetric SketchUp model, and pedestrian-level views at key locations. The students used a mix of hand-drawings and software including AutoCAD, SketchUp, and the Adobe Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, and PhotoShop). Addressing the water level rise, the need for economic and housing opportunities, and the lack of social and territorial cohesion within Barreiro and to other riverfront towns, the students’ proposals included sustainable ideas, enhanced connectivity through green and public spaces, integrated morphology, affordable housing, attractive public waterfront uses, and the adaptive reuse of underused historic industrial structures.
The workshop culminated with a final presentation to local and international professors, and professionals in architecture, urban design, and planning. The students were praised for their hard work, dedication, professionalism, and understanding of the local conditions, and for their complex, innovative, and feasible proposals. The final posters and reports are available from the workshop’s website:
https://www.ud-workshop-lisbon.net/past-workshops.html
