The Urban Fence in the Contemporary City — Reinterpretation Project of the Walled System and the Mértola Gates
A contemporary doorway grows through the ancient stones of Mértola. Simultaneously, it shows and conceals itself, in the careful and delicate convergence of past and present, of archaeology and pragmatism. The memory of Mértola is added.
Ana Margarida Figueiredo Pais
Paulo Providência
Departamento de Arquitetura da Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra
Architecture
More about the winning project
In the context of the discipline of Project Atelier II, whose theme addresses practical and theoretical issues of architecture in its relationship with memory, it is intended to establish a relationship, through project design, between two disciplines that confront each other daily, architecture and archaeology. Taking this into account, Mértola's village served as an object of study whose aim is to preserve and restore its defensive image from the analysis of historical and archaeological documentation, reinterpreting some of the architectural elements lost to time and human action.
The urban fence in the contemporary city proposes a reinterpretation of Mértola's walled system and gates, to preserve and restore the defensive image, but also to create new relationships, including pedagogical and touristic uses, contributing to the human enrichment (economic, social, cultural) of Mértola.
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