Lisboa (PT)

SITE / CONTEXT

In Campolide, Lisbon we are faced with a territory with unique characteristics in the city: on the one hand, it is isolated from the adjacent urban fabric, marked by road and rail infrastructures, with a complex morphology and steep slopes, still reflecting a past of agricultural and working-class character, devalued and degraded; and on the other hand, it is located on a slope facing west, overlooking the Alcântara Valley, currently integrated into the city's structuring system of green corridors, with panoramic views.
The secular Águas Livres Aqueduct, built in the XVIII century, is an extraordinary landmark and protagonist of the site south views, crossing the Alcântara Valley with its stone arches and entering the Monsanto Forest Park.
Currently, as part of the Lisbon General Drainage Plan (PGDL), the construction of an underground tunnel between Campolide and Santa Apolónia is underway, which will connect to the Caneiro de Alcântara (main city sewer) at Quinta José Pinto and cross the intervention area, with planned protection zones.
Rua de Campolide defines the northeast project site limit and is the main route through which residents and users of this territory under analysis can establish networks of relationships between themselves, on a more humanized scale, albeit disconnected from the surrounding urban fabric. On the opposing limit, facing southwest, the is a major train line and station and railway warehouse.
In 1960s, Calouste Gulbenkian Avenue (fast traffic road) was opened, cutting through this territory and creating the south limit. In the late 1990s, in the XX century, the opening of Avenue Miguel Torga reinforced a mobility the north- south axis.
The cityscape changed with new highrise buildings in the bordering north areas of this territory, while keeping it isolated in itself.

QUESTIONS TO THE COMPETITORS

After the undergoing construction of a major tank and tunnel (5km) that will be preventing floods downstream in low city areas, a design solution for a new urban cover is needed. It should connect a piece of Lisbon that has been separated from the adjacent urban fabric, by major public works such as train line and highways. The intervention should wrap carefully preexisting residential low scale buildings, heritage from a preindustrial city.

How can we create new ways to use wisely natural resources in the built environment and boost ecological balance between natural flows and urban needs?
How can we connect urbanity beyond infrastructural limits?
How can we give shape to a sustainable, beautiful, and inclusive future, providing housing and habitat?