”Mending Porto In Pattern”
Hopkins Prize for Best Contextual Urban Project
Av. Dom Afonso Henriques, Porto
The area in central Porto between the Sé Cathedral and São Bento Railway Station has long been the subject of criticism following extensive demolition works in the 1930s that erased a significant portion of the city’s historic fabric. These interventions, carried out to make way for new road infrastructure, were implemented with little consideration for the surrounding urban context or future development. Today, the site remains fragmented and unresolved – a neglected pocket of the city marked by social issues, deteriorating buildings, and a reputation for crime and poverty.
‘‘If the city was torn apart by force, should it not be mended with care?’’
As a deliberate counteraction to the mechanical violence of the demolition works, I have developed a repair pattern inspired by darning – a gesture deeply rooted in craftsmanship and symbolic of a restorative, materially sensitive approach to urban renewal.
