Paulo Rogério Mendonça - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Paulo Rogério Mendonça

Associação iiSBE Portugal, Nov 1, 2017

Resumo: Este artigo apresenta um conjunto de projetos realizados em âmbito académico sobre a requ... more Resumo: Este artigo apresenta um conjunto de projetos realizados em âmbito académico sobre a requalificação de estruturas industriais devolutas e dos respetivos espaços exteriores localizados na zona de Couros em Guimarães. Desenvolveram-se no âmbito da Unidade Curricular de "Atelier Inovação e Tecnologia" do Mestrado Integrado em Arquitetura da Universidade do Minho. O desafio lançado aos alunos desta Unidade Curricular é o de questionar o conhecimento corrente dos materiais e sistemas de construção, propondo novas formas de aplicação destes no projeto de arquitetura. Foi estimulada a utilização de tecnologias digitais nas diversas fases de análise, conceção e representação do projeto, bem como na produção de protótipos. Palavras-chave: Inovação e tecnologia, reabilitação funcional, edificios industrais.

International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, 2020

Fog harvesting is a technique used to collect water from the fog. This technique became widely us... more Fog harvesting is a technique used to collect water from the fog. This technique became widely used around the world due to the lack of fresh water, as fog harvesting is considered to represent an economical and a reliable source of water. On that sense, fog collecting methods are mostly implemented in areas that lack access to fresh water and is mostly used for agricultural purposes and, in some cases, also for providing clean drinking water. The basic idea of harvesting the fog was first developed by farmers when some types of adjoining cavities and containers were put around plants to collect water from humid air, after that those techniques were turned into fog harvesting structures. The introduction of fog harvesting techniques was accompanied with the introduction of new materials and different structures, providing a range of options in regards to the meshes and to the harvesting methods. In this paper, a practical and theoretical assessment of existing fog harvesting meshes ...

International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, 2020

This research aims evaluating in what measure the proposed refurbishment solutions with architect... more This research aims evaluating in what measure the proposed refurbishment solutions with architectural membranes can benefit an existing building and provide an energy efficient alternative to conventional reference building technologies for vertical extensions. In order to do it, an old building from the 19th century, located in Porto (Portugal) is taken as case study. Both solutions are compared regarding thermal comfort, energy consumption for heating/cooling needs using numerical simulation, which allowed evaluating the project from the environmental point of view, based on the energy consumption. The proposed membrane alternatives include conventional and non-conventional thermal/acoustic insulation and a membrane envelope option with vegetation on its external skin. The paper argues that architectural membrane refurbishment solutions can constitute an energy efficient alternative to lightweight conventional ones.

Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 2019

The initial premise of this research is that the relative efficiency of refurbishment solutions w... more The initial premise of this research is that the relative efficiency of refurbishment solutions with architectural membranes needs to be measured in order to allow its comparison with conventional solutions, helping decision makers to select the most efficient solutions. The evaluation of this efficiency depends on economic features, but also on functional, technological and environmental ones. This study presents a model to solve this problem, using decision trees, multicriteria decision-making methods (SAW and AHP) and a sensitivity analysis. The selection of the criteria and the assignment of the corresponding weights was attained through an expert group survey for a baseline scenario, aiming maximizing functional performance (such as energy savings) and minimizing employed resources (materials, costs, etc.). The most efficient refurbishment solution among the set of alternatives was reached using the developed model. The methodology was applied to a case study-an old building from the 19th century, located in Portugal, which was refurbished with a vertical extension. The result reveals that the proposed model is successful and illustrates the potential of this evaluation methodology to compare and quantify the efficiency of a series of different lightweight constructive solutions. It also underlines the advantages of using lightweight building technologies, especially with architectural membrane materials, in building refurbishments.

Informes de la Construcción, 2015

Construcción se distribuyen bajo una licencia de uso y distribución Creative Commons Reconocimien... more Construcción se distribuyen bajo una licencia de uso y distribución Creative Commons Reconocimiento no Comercial 3.0. España (cc-by-nc).

International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, 2017

This paper comments on some technical aspects of living green façade systems, pointing out their ... more This paper comments on some technical aspects of living green façade systems, pointing out their advantages and constraints. This environmentally sustainable strategy for building construction and refurbishment is especially adequate for South oriented facades, more suitable for plant growing, contributing to reduce heat island effect, lower emissions and even a positive balance to buildings by absorbing CO 2 and liberating oxygen due to photosynthesis process. Green facades can also reduce visual impact from buildings on landscape. The use and appreciation of native flora in these systems should be valued. In this paper some examples of green facades are presented and commented on their structural and functional specifications.

IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, 2016

Scalar traction control systems can be used in trains, trams and electrical vehicles equipped wit... more Scalar traction control systems can be used in trains, trams and electrical vehicles equipped with induction motors. To increase the versatility and efficiency of such systems compared to conventional solutions, they must enable dynamic links to different types of power grids, i.e., be supplied by multi-frequency and multi-voltage power sources. Behind these solutions, there are control systems based on vectorial controllers. In order to set systems with the above features, in this work it is intended to build a scalar traction control system, in which the speed is controlled via a scalar controller. The system controls the motor speed and also the position of the rotor and stator fields. Furthermore, it allows to clearly setting the operation conditions, i.e., avoiding situations that would change from braking to traction and vice-versa due to operational and/or functional disturbances. To achieve the required speed reference follow up, the proposed solution includes a torque and field orientation filter.

Para o presente estudo das propriedades térmicas de paredes divisórias leves foi considerada uma ... more Para o presente estudo das propriedades térmicas de paredes divisórias leves foi considerada uma parede composta por isolamento (como núcleo) e membranas (como revestimento). Avaliou-se comparativamente o desempenho térmico dos materiais de isolamento aplicados a paredes divisórias: poliestireno expandido (EPS), espuma de poliuretano (PU), estruturas tridimensionais do tipo sandwich em poliéster (3DWK), aglomerados de coco (CKE), fibra de coco (CKF), lã de rocha (RW), fibra reciclados (WF), fibras de sisal (SF), fibras de poliéster (PESF). O objectivo deste estudo é comparar o desempenho térmico dos materiais de isolamento à base de polímeros ou fibras têxteis com os valores de referência das paredes divisórias leves convencionais, produzidas com painéis de gesso cartonado e isolamento em lã de rocha. As conclusões do trabalho permitem quantificar as principais vantagens e desvantagens dos diferentes isolamentos no que diz respeito ao desempenho térmico de divisórias.

International Journal of Sustainable Energy, 2015

ABSTRACT This paper presents an economic and environmental cost analysis of a representative Port... more ABSTRACT This paper presents an economic and environmental cost analysis of a representative Portuguese housing dwelling unit using an innovative lightweight adjustable membrane partitioning system, developed within a research project. The environmental and economic costs of this system, both on the construction and occupancy phases, were compared with the Portuguese conventional dividing wall solution, in hollow brick, simulated on the same reference dwelling, using the same layout and remaining constructive elements. The occupancy phase costs were evaluated by computer simulation, which allowed determining how the occupancy schedule of daytime and night time occupied areas may influence the cooling and heating needs for different solar orientations.

Using nature itself-on prehistoric caves-or as inspiration for their artificial constructions, ma... more Using nature itself-on prehistoric caves-or as inspiration for their artificial constructions, man always looked for underground earth shelters. The North of Portugal is characterized by a disperse territory occupancy, what is problematic due to infra-structures and transport environmental costs. This reality has diverse causes: accented topography, division of soil due to multiple transmissions of property, an intensive labor and delocalized small industry. The generalized access to individual transport in the last 30 years accentuated this phenomenon, that is now irreversible, but economic paradigm is now changing drastically, with small industries closing and increasing unemployment, what is now impelling the return to individual means of subsistence, such as private poultry. But a lot of soil surface is now blocked for agriculture; due to the existence of small disperse buildings that pop up on territory, limiting accesses and insulation to potentially productive soils. This is especially critical for South oriented slopes, more adequate for agriculture. Increase density is now utopia for this region, so a strategy proposed for dealing with this reality can be to integrate new constructions on terrace slopes, leaving the housing immediate vicinity soil and even roof more easily available for agriculture or at least reducing visual impact of buildings on landscape. The advantages and disadvantages of underground buildings are discussed, with some examples comparing Cappadocia in Turkey with Portugal. Portuguese underground contemporary housing buildings are presented as case studies.

The aim of the present work is to improve the thermal performance of lightweight constructions ma... more The aim of the present work is to improve the thermal performance of lightweight constructions making use of Phase Change Materials (PCMs). Typical lightweight constructions have lack of thermal inertia. The use of PCMs can remediate this problem and improve the building thermal performance. However there are few studies specifying the correct PCM to apply in each situation and the optimal quantity to use. In the present case, it was used a natural PCM-Coconut Oil, placed in plastic containers in the floor. For the study it was used the Test Cells built in the University of Minho. There were carried out several experiments with Coconut Oil, reproducing different thermal storage situations, from the total absence of this material (reference lightweight solution) to the application of all the available PCM. It was concluded that the introduction of PCMs improved substantially the Test Cell thermal inertia, but it would be necessary to also implement some modifications in the South façade (reduction of the glazing area and introduction of more thermal mass) in order to improve the overall thermal performance. Before the introduction of these modifications in the Test Cell, the Program VisualDOE was used in order to forecast the performance of the Test Cell and to optimize the final solution.

A actividade de reabilitação tem ganho uma crescente posição no sector da construção, não só em t... more A actividade de reabilitação tem ganho uma crescente posição no sector da construção, não só em termos quantitativos, mas também em termos qualitativos, já que se verifica uma evolução das tecnologias utilizadas, nomeadamente, integrando soluções pouco invasivas. Utilizam-se cada vez mais materiais naturais tradicionais, como a pedra e a madeira, recuperando técnicas ancestrais. Neste artigo procura-se demonstrar como construções de madeira reagem perante condições de exposição severas, como são as existentes nas zonas costeiras, onde os níveis freáticos são elevados e é necessário oferecer condições de salubridade e conforto às pessoas que nelas habitam. Em particular, é analisado um tipo de habitação denominada de Palheiros, que sendo originalmente associado às actividades piscatórias, aparece hoje em dia como habitação de uso sazonal e de recreio. No sentido de se avaliar as potencialidades da recuperação destas construções em madeira nas zonas litorais, identificam-se e analisam-se os dados históricos locais de modo a compreender o processo construtivo (passado e actual), as patologias, os materiais de construção aplicados e o seu desempenho de forma a incrementar a viabilidade actual das construções. Para se alcançar este objectivo, procedeu-se à elaboração de ensaios higrotérmicos de modo a criar elementos de apoio que possam contribuir para as estratégias de melhoria de habitabilidade destas casas.

Environmental Engineering and Management Journal, 2018

The presence of wood in structural applications in construction was constant in Portugal until th... more The presence of wood in structural applications in construction was constant in Portugal until the end of the XIXth and early XXth centuries. Wood was used since the first constructions when the available resources were scarce and it continues to be present in vernacular buildings and areas whose heritage value requires their preservation. The wood as a structural material is now uncommon in residential buildings in Portugal. It often appears as partial constructive element (particularly in roof structures and floors) and occasionally as integral constructive element. In the latter case, on the vast majority of situations, it appears as a culturally decontextualized constructive system since it lost any connection with traditional solutions using wood.

ipac.kacst.edu.sa

Using nature itself-on prehistoric caves-or as inspiration for their artificial constructions-suc... more Using nature itself-on prehistoric caves-or as inspiration for their artificial constructions-such as in one of the first known settlements: Çatal Huyuk in Anatolia, man always looked for underground shelter. The North of Portugal is characterized by a disperse territory occupancy, what is problematic due to infra-structures and transport environmental costs. This reality has diverse causes: accented topography, parcel split of soil due to multiple transmission of property, an intensive labour and delocalized small industry. The generalized access to individual transport in the last 30 years accentuated this phenomena, that is now irreversible, but economic paradigm is now changing drastically, with small industries closing and increasing unemployment, what is now impelling the return to individual means of subsistence, such as private poultry. But a lot of soil surface is now blocked for agriculture, due to the existence of small disperse buildings that pop up on territory, difficult accesses and limiting the insulation to potentially productive soils. This is especially critical on South oriented slopes. Increase density is now utopia for this region, so a strategy proposed for dealing with this reality can be to integrate new constructions on terrace slopes, leaving the housing upper and immediate vicinity soil more easily available for agriculture and reducing visual impact of buildings on landscape.

In the 1950s a ten-year municipal plan (and its subsequent five-year extension) set off the const... more In the 1950s a ten-year municipal plan (and its subsequent five-year extension) set off the construction of many public housing complexes in Porto to solve the need for housing, as industrialization phenomena had caused relevant migration to cities. These housing settlements (near half of the current total public housing in Porto), despite their careful urban design, do not present nowadays satisfactory quality level (constructive, but also architectural and residential), failing to comply with some of the present regulations and living standard expectations (e.g. dwellings reduced area). In the last few years, some of these residential units have been renovated. One reference case is presented, a 1953 municipal housing in Porto presently under renovation, illustrating the urban regeneration that may result if deeper housing refurbishment is contemplated on a municipal strategy, without necessarily a much higher investment. Original dwelling typologies (with very limited area) are m...

Associação iiSBE Portugal, Nov 1, 2017

Resumo: Este artigo apresenta um conjunto de projetos realizados em âmbito académico sobre a requ... more Resumo: Este artigo apresenta um conjunto de projetos realizados em âmbito académico sobre a requalificação de estruturas industriais devolutas e dos respetivos espaços exteriores localizados na zona de Couros em Guimarães. Desenvolveram-se no âmbito da Unidade Curricular de "Atelier Inovação e Tecnologia" do Mestrado Integrado em Arquitetura da Universidade do Minho. O desafio lançado aos alunos desta Unidade Curricular é o de questionar o conhecimento corrente dos materiais e sistemas de construção, propondo novas formas de aplicação destes no projeto de arquitetura. Foi estimulada a utilização de tecnologias digitais nas diversas fases de análise, conceção e representação do projeto, bem como na produção de protótipos. Palavras-chave: Inovação e tecnologia, reabilitação funcional, edificios industrais.

International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, 2020

Fog harvesting is a technique used to collect water from the fog. This technique became widely us... more Fog harvesting is a technique used to collect water from the fog. This technique became widely used around the world due to the lack of fresh water, as fog harvesting is considered to represent an economical and a reliable source of water. On that sense, fog collecting methods are mostly implemented in areas that lack access to fresh water and is mostly used for agricultural purposes and, in some cases, also for providing clean drinking water. The basic idea of harvesting the fog was first developed by farmers when some types of adjoining cavities and containers were put around plants to collect water from humid air, after that those techniques were turned into fog harvesting structures. The introduction of fog harvesting techniques was accompanied with the introduction of new materials and different structures, providing a range of options in regards to the meshes and to the harvesting methods. In this paper, a practical and theoretical assessment of existing fog harvesting meshes ...

International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, 2020

This research aims evaluating in what measure the proposed refurbishment solutions with architect... more This research aims evaluating in what measure the proposed refurbishment solutions with architectural membranes can benefit an existing building and provide an energy efficient alternative to conventional reference building technologies for vertical extensions. In order to do it, an old building from the 19th century, located in Porto (Portugal) is taken as case study. Both solutions are compared regarding thermal comfort, energy consumption for heating/cooling needs using numerical simulation, which allowed evaluating the project from the environmental point of view, based on the energy consumption. The proposed membrane alternatives include conventional and non-conventional thermal/acoustic insulation and a membrane envelope option with vegetation on its external skin. The paper argues that architectural membrane refurbishment solutions can constitute an energy efficient alternative to lightweight conventional ones.

Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 2019

The initial premise of this research is that the relative efficiency of refurbishment solutions w... more The initial premise of this research is that the relative efficiency of refurbishment solutions with architectural membranes needs to be measured in order to allow its comparison with conventional solutions, helping decision makers to select the most efficient solutions. The evaluation of this efficiency depends on economic features, but also on functional, technological and environmental ones. This study presents a model to solve this problem, using decision trees, multicriteria decision-making methods (SAW and AHP) and a sensitivity analysis. The selection of the criteria and the assignment of the corresponding weights was attained through an expert group survey for a baseline scenario, aiming maximizing functional performance (such as energy savings) and minimizing employed resources (materials, costs, etc.). The most efficient refurbishment solution among the set of alternatives was reached using the developed model. The methodology was applied to a case study-an old building from the 19th century, located in Portugal, which was refurbished with a vertical extension. The result reveals that the proposed model is successful and illustrates the potential of this evaluation methodology to compare and quantify the efficiency of a series of different lightweight constructive solutions. It also underlines the advantages of using lightweight building technologies, especially with architectural membrane materials, in building refurbishments.

Informes de la Construcción, 2015

Construcción se distribuyen bajo una licencia de uso y distribución Creative Commons Reconocimien... more Construcción se distribuyen bajo una licencia de uso y distribución Creative Commons Reconocimiento no Comercial 3.0. España (cc-by-nc).

International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, 2017

This paper comments on some technical aspects of living green façade systems, pointing out their ... more This paper comments on some technical aspects of living green façade systems, pointing out their advantages and constraints. This environmentally sustainable strategy for building construction and refurbishment is especially adequate for South oriented facades, more suitable for plant growing, contributing to reduce heat island effect, lower emissions and even a positive balance to buildings by absorbing CO 2 and liberating oxygen due to photosynthesis process. Green facades can also reduce visual impact from buildings on landscape. The use and appreciation of native flora in these systems should be valued. In this paper some examples of green facades are presented and commented on their structural and functional specifications.

IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, 2016

Scalar traction control systems can be used in trains, trams and electrical vehicles equipped wit... more Scalar traction control systems can be used in trains, trams and electrical vehicles equipped with induction motors. To increase the versatility and efficiency of such systems compared to conventional solutions, they must enable dynamic links to different types of power grids, i.e., be supplied by multi-frequency and multi-voltage power sources. Behind these solutions, there are control systems based on vectorial controllers. In order to set systems with the above features, in this work it is intended to build a scalar traction control system, in which the speed is controlled via a scalar controller. The system controls the motor speed and also the position of the rotor and stator fields. Furthermore, it allows to clearly setting the operation conditions, i.e., avoiding situations that would change from braking to traction and vice-versa due to operational and/or functional disturbances. To achieve the required speed reference follow up, the proposed solution includes a torque and field orientation filter.

Para o presente estudo das propriedades térmicas de paredes divisórias leves foi considerada uma ... more Para o presente estudo das propriedades térmicas de paredes divisórias leves foi considerada uma parede composta por isolamento (como núcleo) e membranas (como revestimento). Avaliou-se comparativamente o desempenho térmico dos materiais de isolamento aplicados a paredes divisórias: poliestireno expandido (EPS), espuma de poliuretano (PU), estruturas tridimensionais do tipo sandwich em poliéster (3DWK), aglomerados de coco (CKE), fibra de coco (CKF), lã de rocha (RW), fibra reciclados (WF), fibras de sisal (SF), fibras de poliéster (PESF). O objectivo deste estudo é comparar o desempenho térmico dos materiais de isolamento à base de polímeros ou fibras têxteis com os valores de referência das paredes divisórias leves convencionais, produzidas com painéis de gesso cartonado e isolamento em lã de rocha. As conclusões do trabalho permitem quantificar as principais vantagens e desvantagens dos diferentes isolamentos no que diz respeito ao desempenho térmico de divisórias.

International Journal of Sustainable Energy, 2015

ABSTRACT This paper presents an economic and environmental cost analysis of a representative Port... more ABSTRACT This paper presents an economic and environmental cost analysis of a representative Portuguese housing dwelling unit using an innovative lightweight adjustable membrane partitioning system, developed within a research project. The environmental and economic costs of this system, both on the construction and occupancy phases, were compared with the Portuguese conventional dividing wall solution, in hollow brick, simulated on the same reference dwelling, using the same layout and remaining constructive elements. The occupancy phase costs were evaluated by computer simulation, which allowed determining how the occupancy schedule of daytime and night time occupied areas may influence the cooling and heating needs for different solar orientations.

Using nature itself-on prehistoric caves-or as inspiration for their artificial constructions, ma... more Using nature itself-on prehistoric caves-or as inspiration for their artificial constructions, man always looked for underground earth shelters. The North of Portugal is characterized by a disperse territory occupancy, what is problematic due to infra-structures and transport environmental costs. This reality has diverse causes: accented topography, division of soil due to multiple transmissions of property, an intensive labor and delocalized small industry. The generalized access to individual transport in the last 30 years accentuated this phenomenon, that is now irreversible, but economic paradigm is now changing drastically, with small industries closing and increasing unemployment, what is now impelling the return to individual means of subsistence, such as private poultry. But a lot of soil surface is now blocked for agriculture; due to the existence of small disperse buildings that pop up on territory, limiting accesses and insulation to potentially productive soils. This is especially critical for South oriented slopes, more adequate for agriculture. Increase density is now utopia for this region, so a strategy proposed for dealing with this reality can be to integrate new constructions on terrace slopes, leaving the housing immediate vicinity soil and even roof more easily available for agriculture or at least reducing visual impact of buildings on landscape. The advantages and disadvantages of underground buildings are discussed, with some examples comparing Cappadocia in Turkey with Portugal. Portuguese underground contemporary housing buildings are presented as case studies.

The aim of the present work is to improve the thermal performance of lightweight constructions ma... more The aim of the present work is to improve the thermal performance of lightweight constructions making use of Phase Change Materials (PCMs). Typical lightweight constructions have lack of thermal inertia. The use of PCMs can remediate this problem and improve the building thermal performance. However there are few studies specifying the correct PCM to apply in each situation and the optimal quantity to use. In the present case, it was used a natural PCM-Coconut Oil, placed in plastic containers in the floor. For the study it was used the Test Cells built in the University of Minho. There were carried out several experiments with Coconut Oil, reproducing different thermal storage situations, from the total absence of this material (reference lightweight solution) to the application of all the available PCM. It was concluded that the introduction of PCMs improved substantially the Test Cell thermal inertia, but it would be necessary to also implement some modifications in the South façade (reduction of the glazing area and introduction of more thermal mass) in order to improve the overall thermal performance. Before the introduction of these modifications in the Test Cell, the Program VisualDOE was used in order to forecast the performance of the Test Cell and to optimize the final solution.

A actividade de reabilitação tem ganho uma crescente posição no sector da construção, não só em t... more A actividade de reabilitação tem ganho uma crescente posição no sector da construção, não só em termos quantitativos, mas também em termos qualitativos, já que se verifica uma evolução das tecnologias utilizadas, nomeadamente, integrando soluções pouco invasivas. Utilizam-se cada vez mais materiais naturais tradicionais, como a pedra e a madeira, recuperando técnicas ancestrais. Neste artigo procura-se demonstrar como construções de madeira reagem perante condições de exposição severas, como são as existentes nas zonas costeiras, onde os níveis freáticos são elevados e é necessário oferecer condições de salubridade e conforto às pessoas que nelas habitam. Em particular, é analisado um tipo de habitação denominada de Palheiros, que sendo originalmente associado às actividades piscatórias, aparece hoje em dia como habitação de uso sazonal e de recreio. No sentido de se avaliar as potencialidades da recuperação destas construções em madeira nas zonas litorais, identificam-se e analisam-se os dados históricos locais de modo a compreender o processo construtivo (passado e actual), as patologias, os materiais de construção aplicados e o seu desempenho de forma a incrementar a viabilidade actual das construções. Para se alcançar este objectivo, procedeu-se à elaboração de ensaios higrotérmicos de modo a criar elementos de apoio que possam contribuir para as estratégias de melhoria de habitabilidade destas casas.

Environmental Engineering and Management Journal, 2018

The presence of wood in structural applications in construction was constant in Portugal until th... more The presence of wood in structural applications in construction was constant in Portugal until the end of the XIXth and early XXth centuries. Wood was used since the first constructions when the available resources were scarce and it continues to be present in vernacular buildings and areas whose heritage value requires their preservation. The wood as a structural material is now uncommon in residential buildings in Portugal. It often appears as partial constructive element (particularly in roof structures and floors) and occasionally as integral constructive element. In the latter case, on the vast majority of situations, it appears as a culturally decontextualized constructive system since it lost any connection with traditional solutions using wood.

ipac.kacst.edu.sa

Using nature itself-on prehistoric caves-or as inspiration for their artificial constructions-suc... more Using nature itself-on prehistoric caves-or as inspiration for their artificial constructions-such as in one of the first known settlements: Çatal Huyuk in Anatolia, man always looked for underground shelter. The North of Portugal is characterized by a disperse territory occupancy, what is problematic due to infra-structures and transport environmental costs. This reality has diverse causes: accented topography, parcel split of soil due to multiple transmission of property, an intensive labour and delocalized small industry. The generalized access to individual transport in the last 30 years accentuated this phenomena, that is now irreversible, but economic paradigm is now changing drastically, with small industries closing and increasing unemployment, what is now impelling the return to individual means of subsistence, such as private poultry. But a lot of soil surface is now blocked for agriculture, due to the existence of small disperse buildings that pop up on territory, difficult accesses and limiting the insulation to potentially productive soils. This is especially critical on South oriented slopes. Increase density is now utopia for this region, so a strategy proposed for dealing with this reality can be to integrate new constructions on terrace slopes, leaving the housing upper and immediate vicinity soil more easily available for agriculture and reducing visual impact of buildings on landscape.

In the 1950s a ten-year municipal plan (and its subsequent five-year extension) set off the const... more In the 1950s a ten-year municipal plan (and its subsequent five-year extension) set off the construction of many public housing complexes in Porto to solve the need for housing, as industrialization phenomena had caused relevant migration to cities. These housing settlements (near half of the current total public housing in Porto), despite their careful urban design, do not present nowadays satisfactory quality level (constructive, but also architectural and residential), failing to comply with some of the present regulations and living standard expectations (e.g. dwellings reduced area). In the last few years, some of these residential units have been renovated. One reference case is presented, a 1953 municipal housing in Porto presently under renovation, illustrating the urban regeneration that may result if deeper housing refurbishment is contemplated on a municipal strategy, without necessarily a much higher investment. Original dwelling typologies (with very limited area) are m...