During a recent trip to Trás-os-Montes (Portugal) I witnessed an extraordinary example of Portuguese modernist urbanism and architecture of 50s, which Michele Cannatà and Fátima Fernandes of
Cannatà e Fernandes, have designated as “Moderno Escondido”, or the Hidden Modern (an investigation that resulted in an exhibition and a book “Modern Escondido: Arquitectura das Centrais Hidroeléctricas do Douro 1953-1964: Picote, Miranda, Bemposta”, FAUP Publicações, 1997).
The Residential Complex of Picote, built during the construction of the Douro dams, designed by Archer de Carvalho, Nunes de Almeida and Rogério Ramos, architects who graduated from ESBAP, in Oporto, Portugal, was designed to be an “ideal city”, a city built from scratch, with the necessary infrastructures to become a self-sufficient system for 4000 thousand people.
The complex reflects contemporary modernist influences of Le Corbusier and the propositions of the
Athens Charter, and blends it with Portuguese culture. It includes a housing area for workers, a school, a church, a shopping mall, houses for the executive staff and an inn.
In my visit I had access to the executive staff’s houses. These were abandoned and, with no preservation works in the horizon, will continue its natural (or, sometimes, un-natural) process of degradation. However, the quality of the materials is still visible: wood, Portuguese tiles, stone, among others.
The 2011 short film
Ruínas de Portugal – O Moderno Escondido (by RR productions, image by Manuel Barreto and editing by Rui Gonçalves) shows the advanced degradation of the houses.
Trás-os-Montes discloses many wonderful settings, some more hidden than others.
Have a good trip!
Ana
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