Rehabilitated neighbourhood in Porto, São João de Deus is shortlisted for Mies van der Rohe award

The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe shortlisted 19 Portuguese projects, out of which five are from Porto, namely the São João de Deus neighbourhood in Porto, once a derelict place, in the eastern part of the city.

The São João de Deus neighbourhood has been fully rehabilitated under the term by Mayor Rui Moreira. The once known as “Bairro de Rebordões”, settled in the 1940’s, had most of its constructions demolished in 2008. In 2016, under Rui Moreira’s first term ahead of the Municipality of Porto, the “Bairro de São João de Deus” is all set to a new start: it has been fully rehabilitated and it has been nominated for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe.

Nuno Brandão Costa is the architect from Porto that planned and designed the new landscape: there are 96 households, where 12 are new construction and 84 are rehabilitated houses. The public space also offers a new access to the neighbourhood, and water supply infrastructure has been put in place, as well as domestic and rain water drainage, natural gas, telecommunications and public lighting.

By the end of 2020, the second phase to rehabilitating the place commenced and another 24 households were restored. New construction of two-storey building is planned, as well. The endeavour is set to conclude by the end of 2021 and has been awarded to the company Befebal II for circa 2.16 million euros.

This rehabilitation project is included in the Municipality’s strategy to transform once banned places in the city, especially in the eastern part of Porto. And this strategy is already being recognised.

In addition, the Mies van der Rohe award has nominated the project by architect João Mendes Ribeiro, who has rehabilitated the Palacete Ramos Pinto, in 2019, also in the parish of Campanhã. For years derelict, the space is now a cultural centre, renamed Casa de São Roque, and devoted to contemporary art. It must be mentioned that Mayor Rui Moreira personally engaged in this endeavour to ensure that such place would not be abandoned. Following a municipal protocol with art collector Pedro Álvares Ribeiro, the rehabilitation works advanced and the palace is now one of the few fine examples of art deco in the city.

Another project to be shortlisted for the Mies van der Rohe award is the “Tipografia do Conto”, by architects Alexandra Coutinho, Nuno Grande, Rita Basto and Jorge Gomes, of Pedra Líquida. TA former workshop of the beginning of the twentieth century –the Tipografia e Oficina Gráficos Reunidos - was transformed into the now standing house, located at the Rua de Álvares Cabral.

Moreover, there are two architects from Porto, whose work is not in the city, but has been included in the European prize list: Álvaro Siza Vieira, with a project in Gallarate, Italy, and Diogo Aguiar, who is granted recognition for his Pavilion House, in Guimarães (jointly with Andreia Garcia) and an enotourism building, in Quinta da Aveleda, in Penafiel.

This is the first phase of nominations (the second happens in September) and it includes, as well, a set of six houses and a garden, by the atelier FALA, authored by Filipe Magalhães, Ana Luísa Soares and Ahmed Belkhodja, and also the rehabilitation of three buildings in Rua do Almada, by the studio Figueiredo+Pena Arquitetos.

Porto Botanical Garden, which includes the Casa Andresen, the Casa Salbert and the Franz Koepp Greenhouses, by Nuno Valentim, Frederico Eça and Margarida Carvalho were nominated for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award, in 2019.

The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe Award of 60 thousand euros was first established in 1987 by the European Union, and it is regarded as one of the most important and prestigious on the international architecture scene. This prize is biannual and its main goal is to acknowledge and reward quality architectural production in Europe.