SocietyUrban Planning

With curfew in place and confinement measures still in the agenda, visiting historic places and museums may be very much seem like wishful thinking. But there are other ways to explore the city landmark sites: accept the invitation by Porto City Hall and tour virtually through Porto Historic Centre, with a 360 degree view. Embark on an interactive virtual tour of Porto Historic Centre, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

Porto City Hall celebrates its Historic Centre from 25th to 31st March, with an agenda that includes initiatives developed in collaboration with different social agents. The highlight is the presentation of the Management and Sustainability Plan for Porto Historic Centre.

In-person visits and social gathering may be cancelled for the coming month or so, but getting free tours in the city of Porto aren’t. Porto Innovation Hub promotes the initiative “Inovação Fora de Portas – Engenharia Civil à Mostra” [aka, “Innovation across the city – Civil Engineering Display”, free translation), which are held in a digital format, on a monthly basis. The tours are free.

The project “AtlaS.WH – Atlantic Area Heritage: Sustainability of World Heritage Urban Sites”, led by the city of Porto, by Porto City Hall and by Porto Vivo, SRU, invites the community, visitors and tourists included, to actively participate in the draft of the Management and Sustainability Plan for the “Historic Centre of Porto, Luiz I Bridge and the Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar”.

The rehabilitation works of the vaulted ceiling of the chapel at the Agramonte Cemetery and of the chapel at the Prado do Repouso Cemetery, at the Bonfim parish, have been completed. Porto City Hall commenced the rehabilitation works to protect historical buildings, which require extra care and attention to detail, as not to endanger the original features and materials, as historic heritage are our link to the past and bygone eras.

Treetop Walk, in Serralves, has been nominated for ArchDaily Building of the Year 2021, in two categories: Public & Landscape Architecture and Small Scale & Installations. ArchDaily is a weblog that provides news on projects, products, events, interviews and competitions as regards architecture, for 12 years now.

The student residence Milestone Porto Asprela achieved the LEED gold certification or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The building, which was formally inaugurated on 19th November 2019, is the first in the Iberian Peninsula to earn this international certification, in the Hospitality typology.

Porto City Hall estimates that the Monte Pedral project, where it plans to build circa 330 dwellings, mostly at affordable prices, amounts to an investment that surpasses 63 million euros, in accordance with the plot-division that has been unanimously approved by the Municipal Executive, early this week. “This plot is the great opportunity for creating a new city centre in Porto”, highlighted councillor for Urbanism, Pedro Baganha, during the Executive Meeting, held on 11th January.

The balustrade, the ramparts and the staircases of the landmark structure of the Pergola da Foz, facing the Atlantic, in Porto, will be rehabilitated. The works advance this coming Monday, and follow the renovation works the Municipality of Porto commenced a little less than two years ago, when the seaside covered walkway facing the Atlantic, in Porto, was restored by the Municipality. Works are estimated to conclude in the end of May.

The public tender for the rehabilitation of the Quinta do Mitra was launched on 21st December. Proposals are taken until 23:59’ of 26th January 2021. The goal of the project is to rehabilitate the outdoor enveloping area, as well as the inside space of the Quinta do Mitra, transforming it into a large public space, easily accessible and as an extension of the urban park that frames the future Terminal Intermodal of Campanhã. The municipal investments amount to circa 1.2 million euros.