Architecture students propose innovative solutions for public spaces in Bonfim

The washhouses of Fontainhas and Praça da Alegria, located in Bonfim, were the subject of study for students of the Architecture Faculty of the University of Porto (FAUP), for the class “Architecture and Society”. The outcome of the developed work, in partnership with Domus Social, is accessible to the community through a showcase with detailed information about each project, which will remain in Praça da Alegria until the 23rd.

The exhibited proposals were designed in close and permanent contact with the local community, in order to develop solutions to reinvigorate and modernise these two areas, once highly used by the population. The public exhibition of these projects hopes to perpetuate a continuous dialogue between those who use these spaces daily, so as to improve the perspective and ideas of the students.

Olga Feio, the coordinator of the Project Management team of Domus Social, and a member of the teaching team for this class, enforces that “the area of Fontainhas has an enormous potential for living and socialising in the public spaces. Other neighbourhoods like Fontainhas and Duque de Saldanha are quite close by”.

The class “Architecture and Society”, which is a result of the protocol between FAUP and Arquitectos Sem Fronteiras – Portugal, in partnership with Domus Social E.M. and the Aga Khan Portugal Foundatin, hoped to combine a wide literature on global and local dynamics of urban transformation, with intervention and proximity action in a real context.

The work developed by the architecture students represents a valuable contribution to the promotion of the residents’ quality of life in the area of Fontainhas and reinforces how architecture and students have a fundamental role in the construction of a more inclusive city.