"Call for support in campaign against Modernist building
adjoining Baroque piazza
View of the Bairro Alto area of Lisbon with the proposed new buildings front right
A major planning battle is erupting in the Lisbon, Portugal, as the country's government - supported by the European Union - prepares to build a Modernist building close to the famous Baroque ensemble of Praça do Comércio. After the disastrous earthquake and tsunami of 1 November 1755, the Baixa (lower) district of Lisbon was rebuilt in its entirety after to the designs of the Marquis of Pombal, hence the designation "Baixa pombalina" to the district and "Pombaline Baroque" to the style of the buildings. Pombal imposed a regular grid of streets running down to a major square on the waterfront, a design that was astonishing in its time for its simplicity and unity, and which was widely influential in Portuguese and British colonies, including Rio de Janeiro and Sydney. The area remains today almost entirely as built by Pombal in the mid-eighteenth century, unique among European capitals which have mostly been rebuilt many times in the last 250 years.
The proposed new building, 30,000m2 of headquarters for the European Navigation Agency and a centre for drug addiction (above centre), will sit only 300m west of the city's main Baroque waterfont square (above far right). The building will - in the eyes of many Lisbon residents - spoil forever the harmony and unity of their city as viewed from the river Tagus. The proposal comes soon after a new Modernist building by Siza Viera blotted the Bairro Alto area, which was seen as 'softening up' Lisbon's historic centre for other Modernist interventions.
The proposal comes at a time when the Lisbon Municipality is seeking World Heritage listing for the Baixa pombalina. However, Lisbon residents fear that the new building so close to the riverfront will destroy the distant perspective of Lisbon for generations. nbsp; "It doesn't make any sense when we are trying to give the riverfront [back] to the people of Lisbon", says planner Goncalo Cornelio da Silva.
In contrast to other European capitals, the Baixa district of Lisbon has a lack of very old buildings, due to the 1755 earthquake. What makes Lisbon unique, and what the municipality is seeking World Heritage status for, is the complete urban ensemble designed by Pombal (above, areas in yellow). Any new building encroaching on this environment - especially a large and contrasting one like that now proposed - "will be a disaster", according to da Silva.
What you can do to help
Those who are concerned at the proposal should write and complain. You can address your letters to:
Exmo. Senhor Presidente da Câmara Municipal de Lisboa
Prof. Carmona Rodrigues
Paços do Concelho
Praça do Município
1100-365 Lisboa
Portugal
President of European Union
Dr. José Manuel Durão Barroso
1049 Brussels
Belgium
Exmo. Senhor Primeiro Ministro
Eng. José Socrates
Palácio de São Bento
Rua da Imprensa á Estrela, 4
1200-888 Lisboa
Portugal
The World Heritage Centre UNESCO
7, place de Fontenoy
75352 Paris 07 SP
FRANCE
Information supplied by Gonçalo Cornélio da Silva"
PF
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