Studio Porto 2018
Social Housing Tour
07/09/18
By meren Pegler
To understand the living conditions of the people of the city of Porto better, Prof. Arch. Alberto Lage (architect and teacher at FAUP) took us to a social housing tour. He explained to us the Ilhas (islands) that came up during the industrialization, since they are the foundation to modernist projects of SAAL as Bouça, by Alvaro Siza.
The acute need for workers housing during the industrialization led to these so called Ilhas that were mentioned above. The Ilhas are created by the sequence of multiple very small living units(16-25 m2), located in the backyard of bourgeoisie houses. They commonly have one door and one window and used to accomodate a whole family. The lavatories were outside and shared by all inhabitants of one island.
Illhas
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Bourgeoisie house
Image and plan from - http://www.alkevandenberg.com/ilhas-of-porto---essay.html
The conditions of these Islands are not legal anymore nowadays, however many people still live in them.
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As a result of the revolution in 1974 an experimental movement arose led by young architecture students, among them Alvaro Siza. Their aim was to achieve better conditions that still enabled the existing people to stay in the area. Bouça is probably the most known project and was, after we saw traditional Ilhas and Sao Victor (experiment also by siza), the last destination of our trip.
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Siza created in the city’s center a social housing complex that carries on the idea of community but unlike the traditional ilhas it has legal proportions and enables light and air to entre.
Bouca has many visitors every day. But it is unlikely to understand the project’s importance without considering the history of dwelling for the people of Porto. Nowadays people still live in these ilhas and together with the ruins of many they form a big part of the city’s identification.
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While wandering in Porto, keep your eyes open and you will see ilhas all around!
