{"id":46472,"date":"2014-06-24T14:55:19","date_gmt":"2014-06-24T12:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.area-arch.it\/en\/social-housing-in-bouca\/"},"modified":"2017-10-02T19:44:17","modified_gmt":"2017-10-02T17:44:17","slug":"social-housing-in-bouca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.area-arch.it\/en\/social-housing-in-bouca\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Housing in Bou\u00e7a"},"content":{"rendered":"

The district of Bouca represents the second experiment in building with the participation of the inhabitants, following a specific SAAL program. The first experience had been the residential estate of Sao Victor (1974-79). Bouca comes before the Evora project and, from an architectonic point of view, can be considered one of the most successful post-war projects in council houses. Siza\u2019s project resemblance to Dutch and German council housing programs of the \u201820s can be attributed to the buildings\u2019 contained height and the flats\u2019 proximity resulting in duplex terrace houses. Siza learned a lot from a previous study on Bruno Taut\u2019s architecture in Berlin, duplicating the deep red used by Taut in the upper part of the buildings. He was also greatly influenced by Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud, from Rotterdam. These modern architecture archetypes are combined with a perfect mustering of elements taken from local architecture, such as the staircases that lead to the flats looking out onto the courtyard. Siza\u2019s art here consists in perceiving what life-styles are at play and reinterpreting them by adding some personalized features.<\/p>\n

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photo by Joao Ferrand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The main feature of Siza\u2019s estate is a huge enclosing wall and the four sets of buildings resting against it. The wall isolates this area from the noise coming from the busy road above. All the services are by the road, on the furthest side opposite the plot, and form the terraces\u2019 finishing features, acting as heads in the composition. Green courtyards open up between them, on one side. A temporary interruption of the building work in 1977 was for Siza a dramatic event. This was due to a radical change in Portuguese building politics and urban planning, but also due to the residents\u2019 criticism, which put an end to their participation. It was as if all the possibilities the SAAL\u2019s programs had opened up suddenly had vanished for ever. Nobody seemed interested in carrying on with the project, with the exception of Siza himself, who turned out to be the most constant and reliable person. In fact the project was taken up again later and it rapidly came to completion in 2005, after a 28 year gap, without any modifications or help from the residents. Once completed this estate became a significant architectonic example of quality council housing in Porto, registering a high number of visitors and a high housing demand. The residents seem to appreciate its qualities, something that in years gone by the administration hadn\u2019t been able to recognize. The Bouca estate has become a reference point in a city where people often leave the city centre \u2013 perhaps a forerunner for future projects, a way to invert the current trend.
\nF.B.<\/p>\n