Rita Ochoa | University of Beira Interior (original) (raw)

Papers by Rita Ochoa

Emerging voices on new architectural ecologies, 2022

The interdisciplinary funded project, Intermittent Cities, led by FCT and CIAUD.ULisboa, explores... more The interdisciplinary funded project, Intermittent Cities, led by FCT and CIAUD.ULisboa, explores transformation processes that empower temporary and sharing practices in urban spaces. Specifically, for Triennale Universities Competition 2022, a study was carried out by three Portuguese universities – FA_ULisboa, ISA_ULisboa, and DECA_UBI – promoting each of their different specialisations (Urbanism, Landscape Architecture, Architecture), yet keeping a common line on the set of practices and inventive imaginaries that explore the city through an intermittent perspective. Acknowledging that intermittent approaches can lead to new disciplinary paradigms which are fundamentally flexible, students were invited to focus on: (i) everyday needs or effervescent collective experiments in public spaces; (ii) small initiatives or self-organised reclaim-the-city green spaces; and (iii) regeneration programmes for vacant and obsolete spaces.

Emerging voices on new architectural ecologies , 2022

The programme Architectures of (inter)Action aims to promote collaborative strategies between Uni... more The programme Architectures of (inter)Action aims to promote collaborative strategies between University and Community, in partnership with the public sector and local entities, to explore urban dynamics and architectural solutions with direct application in real contexts.Through an approach that brings together teaching, research, and professional practice, it is intended to instill in architectural education the importance of civic participation and interaction with the territories to intervene, as well as to encourage teamwork and the contact with other disciplines in the design processes.
Working the idea of Architectures of (inter)Action, these initiatives have been applied in different scales and contexts, from Master’s orientations, to exercises in design studio, or open ideas contests with interdisciplinary juries. In parallel, a set of public exhibitions were held, inside and outside the university. More recently, teams of senior students were invited to intervene in vulnerable territories in the outskirts of Covilhã, through two proposals, “Pátio dos !à” and “Pontes”, funded by the Portuguese programme Bairros Saudáveis (Healthy Neighbourhoods).
Apart from Healthy Neighbourhoods’ experience, most of the resulting projects were not built. Nonetheless, we assume that just as important as the results are the dynamics generated. Students leave the comfort of the classroom, and the university opens its doors to the community.
Almost fifteen years after the first activities, we believe that a systematisation is required to improve and enhance future projects. Thus, we built this essay in two parts: first, a brief overview of the research programme and an atlas of the (inter)action initiatives; then secondly, a focus on the two ongoing projects that effectively will be constructed, under the collaboration with the Healthy Neighbourhoods Programme.

Human Factors in Architecture, Sustainable Urban Planning and Infrastructure, 2022

Worldwide, are emerging several forms of uses of space, activities, expressions, and relationship... more Worldwide, are emerging several forms of uses of space, activities, expressions, and relationships that enable and empower temporariness and sharing in the urban spaces: it is what we call Intermittent Practices (IP). IP are generating significant changes on the urban context and new challenges to policy, planning, and governance. The research project "Intermittent Lisbon. Temporary uses and sharing practices in the adaptive city" focuses on the distinctive sort of intermittences that occur in the different dimensions of public life, driving urban transformations and causing disruptions in the conventional relations between space, time and use. The present paper stems from this project and reports the mapping, systematization and interpretative reading of a collection of IP case studies. Using previously defined criteria, 10 examples will be addressed, covering the following five areas: 1. Housing and Working; Services, Leisure, Trade, 3. Culture and Artistic Action, 4. Mobility, 5. Public space and Community use. We consider that the reconceptualization of temporariness and sharing can lead to the definition of new disciplinary paradigms in which flexibility and adaptability become fundamental elements of the design processes. Therefore, a critical evaluation of this in progress phenomena is essential and an opportunity to rethink the way we live cities and design them, also in light of the pandemic crisis we have just experienced.

Sustainability, 2022

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)

In 1998, the Lisbon Universal Exhibition—Expo’98—led to an urban regeneration process on Lisbon’s waterfront. Following the example of other cities, this event was a pretext for rethinking and replacing a depressed area and for reconnecting it with the Tagus river through the creation of a set of new spaces for common use along the water. It was promoted as a public art program, which can be considered quite innovative in the Portuguese context. In view of this framework, this article aims to debate the relationships between public art and the dynamics of urban regeneration at the end of the 20th century. For that, it will analyse: (1) Expo’98’s public art program, comparing its initial assumptions with the final results; and (2) the impact of this program, through the identification of the placement of public art before (1974–1998) and after (1999–2009) the event. Although most of the implemented works did not (intentionally) explore aspects of space integration nor issues of public space appropriation, Expo’98’s public art program originated a monumentalisation of Lisbon’s eastern riverfront, later extended to other waterfront areas. At the same time, it played an important role in the way of understanding the city and public space that decisively influenced subsequent policies and projects. It is concluded that public art had a significant role in urban processes in the late 20th century, which is quite evident in a discourse of urban art as space qualifier and as a means of economic and social development.
Keywords: public art; Lisbon; Expo’98; urban regeneration; waterfront areas

Advances in Human Factors in Architecture, Sustainable Urban Planning and Infrastructure, 2021

Along with the political, socioeconomic and technological changes that emerged in the new millenn... more Along with the political, socioeconomic and technological changes that emerged in the new millennium, cities have been under significant changes. Values of temporariness and sharing have appeared in different dimensions of the public life, driving urban transformations, disrupting conventional relations between space, time, and use and proving the need to evolve more nuanced discussions on the nature of a city. We call this set of alternative spaces, activities, expressions, and relationships that enable and empower temporariness and sharing in the urban spaces, Intermittent Practices. Addressing this complex reality, the present workpart of a recently started research projectaims to reflect about temporariness and sharing as drivers of the contemporary urban changes. It also intends to think about the new challenges that temporary and sharing practices seem to provoke to policy, planning, and governance. Finally, to better illustrate the multiple perspectives of these dynamics as well as their impacts on new architectures (new programs, new typologies, new occupations, new aesthetics) and new ways of living and generating urban space, the text focus on the Lisbon's intermittences, giving a brief example of how, methodologically, the case studies under analysis will be systematized. Keywords: Intermittent city Á Intermittent practices Á Temporary uses Á Sharing practices Á Innovative architecture Á Innovative planning 1 Temporariness and Sharing as Drivers of the Contemporary Urban Changes Over the past years, the patterns of life have changed greatly, including new social power relations, family structures and gender roles, wealth (in)equality, mass migration, ageing population, etc. Meanwhile, new technologies have taken over by establishing how, where, and when we act, prompting questions about privacy and identity [5]. Alongside these factors, cities have been under significant changes, incorporating values of temporariness and sharing in urban processes, disrupting traditional relations between space, time, and use [14].

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 603, 042095, 2019

This paper analyses the urban design processes of the square “Praça do Comércio”, in Lisbon. It... more This paper analyses the urban design processes of the square “Praça do Comércio”, in Lisbon. It comprises two distinct moments in its history. The first moment is about the period in the aftermath of the 1755 earthquake. The second analysis moment is about the late XX, and the early XXI century. It confronts a methodological analysis of the iconography and cartography of those periods, with the current local observations and their spatial visual assessment. The paper has three parts. First, it presents the six proposals submitted for “Praça do Comércio” in the second half of the XVIII century. Another sets of four-period maps are also shown as these maps include also the medieval city designs. This reveals the continuity of the different projects’ ideas for the “Praça do Comércio”. The second part deals with the placement of the D. José I (1714-1777) equestrian statue. This section discusses the placement of the statue as part of an overall plan where the “Praça do Comércio” acts as a stage for the D. José I statue. The ideology of public praise towards the reigning king is evident in this tie-in between the square and the statue. At last, the square's different functions and uses during the late XX and the early XXI century are presented. For that, two recent projects are analysed. The first developed between 1992 and 2000 and the second from 2010. The analysis of the square designs reveals the existence of a strong connection with the past. The projects recover the medieval square design, both the opening towards the Tagus River and its design, regardless of the different proposals advances and retreats in relation to its form, notable buildings, and dimensions. Public art acts in an unabridged whole with the urban design. This is near to the notion of urban composition, in that the monument transcends the idea of a sculptural object and becomes the entire urban set. This understanding is in contrary to the notion of public art as a decorative element apposed on pre-existing spaces. The urban composition is also in contrary to the idea of public space as an outdoor gallery where the art pieces are independent units without any coherent dialog with the public space. The 1992 and 2010 plans, although formally and materially different, present the concomitant ideas. Both present ideas for the occupation of the lateral arcades of the square as the touristic and living areas. The current project (2010 drawing), much criticized by architects in the media, abandoned the ideas of the previous plan (1992). These included a road tunnel and an underground car park. The 2010 project includes some movement architectural barriers. It also presents a new design for the pavement based on a diagonal grid that leads to a novel reading of the square. These projects, proposed in the XVIII–XXI centuries, show how to interpret the memories, the symbolism and the uses of the “Praça do Comércio”. The recent projects are dissonant about the image of the square, but nonetheless, all projects respect the attributes of its genesis.

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 603, 042094, 2019

The construction of the railway lines in the cities has led to relevant territorial transformatio... more The construction of the railway lines in the cities has led to relevant territorial transformations and instigated the first urban planning operations all over the world. In Portugal, the deployment of the railway line-even though late in the second half of the 19th century-had a crucial role in the transformation of the territory. This article analyses the relationships between the implementation of the railways and the urban development. This is clarified with the case study of the city of Albergaria-a-Velha, in Portugal, which takes part in the largest railway system named "Vale do Vouga" line. The article is organized into three main moments. First, the implementation of the railways in the cities, in general, is addressed. Then, in a second moment, the implementation of the railways in Portugal is studied. Finally, the article focuses on the case of Albergaria-a-Velha and the way the railways relate to the urban development in this territory. It was found that, initially, the deployment of the train line in Albergaria-a-Velha was not too invasive in the territory, occupying predominantly agricultural lands. Also, it is noticed that Albergaria-a-Velha suffered its greatest urban growth during the early 70s of the 20th century. This came about abruptly and unregulated, similarly to what occurred in several other cities during this period. In the current urban structure, the railway line is an element that clearly divides the city. But still, over time, the railway line was responsible for moments in which the city was redesigned and adapted to it, through the new buildings and streets. In fact, the railway line had an important role in the regulation of the urban fabric, shaping and defining the urban growth in Albergaria-a-Velha. We conclude that the railway line produces two opposite effects in the urban design of Albergaria-a-Velha. It regulates the space, but acts simultaneously as a barrier. Not only it conditions the roads that it crosses, but also conditions the limits on the development of urban form, while not preventing the urban growth.

8th ICBR Lisbon Book of Papers - International Conference on Building Resilience: Risk and Resilience in Practice: Vulnerabilities, Displaced People, Local Communities and Heritages , 2019

Since World War II, the war has as battlefields the cities, which, in the most recent cases, are ... more Since World War II, the war has as battlefields the cities, which, in the most recent cases, are the principal stages of the conflict. With all the violence and bombing involved, the societies are being affected and the humanitarian crises of migration have been increasing. Nowadays, we can assist how war is being one of the biggest atrocities against human life and a crime against the contemporary cities. The violence and massive exodus have a huge psychological impact in all the inhabitants that are forced to leave or fight. However, after or even during the conflicts they want to come back to their country. It is fundamental to think about the future of the cities and in those who want to come back. In this context, this paper focuses on a proposal of a temporary town for Syria after war. This proposal was developed in the scope of the International Ideas Competition "Syria Postwar Housing" and the aim is to create a place for housing people while the cities are being rebuild, to receive the displaced people that want to come back and help to build their country.

Ángulo Recto Revista de estudios sobre la ciudad como espacio plural, 9.2, 2018

In an approach to the city that refuses to be confined to its merely physical features and includ... more In an approach to the city that refuses to be confined to its merely physical features and includes an interdisciplinary perspective, it is crucial to find mechanisms to study its multiple dimensions and experiences.
This paper proposes a reflection on the existing research in fields such as Architecture and Urbanism, discussing the importance of specific methodologies for the analysis of territory. This discussion builds on an example of research about the connections between a city and its waterfront, the case of Lisbon.
Here, the main methodology is based on in situ observation and its subsequent systematization, finally configuring a graphic and visual approach to the study of public space. This methodology can be applied to other urban realities not only for the analysis of public space but also for its design.

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2017

In our contemporary cities, some public spaces seem to have greater ability to host art intervent... more In our contemporary cities, some public spaces seem to have greater ability to host art interventions, like historical centers, urban sprawl areas, gardens and parks, new residential districts, among others. Also in port cities, its waterfronts constitute privileged spaces for the placement of public art. On Lisbon’s riverfront, we can see a relevant number of works and of monuments of strong symbolic nature. In turn, the placement of public art is a way to value the inherently symbolic nature of the waterfronts and to emphasize its monumentality.
However, the criteria for the placement of public art on those spaces are not always clear. In some cases, there are some thematic correspondences between the works and the places, namely with the theme of the water, the Discoveries and others like that. Nevertheless, we cannot observe a profound spatial integration, or a design with the context. In some cases, the artistic elements are produced with a logic of isolated work of art and later they are acquired and placed in some public space. In other cases, we assist to an unusual situation: a work is conceived in a strict relation with a place, but then, without any evident justification, it is dislocated to a completely different context. Or simply it is removed, disappearing from the public space. Although it seems a strange situation, such kind of dislocations often occurs in Lisbon.
On this framework, this research proposes a discussion about the processes of implementation of public art. We will analyze two cases of public art replacement:
1. The monument Primeira Travessia Aérea do Atlântico Sul (First Aerial Crossing of the South Atlantic), by Laranjeira Santos and Rodrigues Fernandes, 1972;
2. The public sculpture Ribeira das Naus, by Charters de Almeida, 1995.
Both works were designed to very specific and important places on Lisbon’s waterfront and both were later replaced to other locations on the inner city, quite far from the river. This kind of “(de)monumentalization” of a space originates the following questions: why is a work removed from a public space and why it is decided to give it another destination? What are the implications of those changes? Is public art removable?
Considering public art besides its purely aesthetic significance, this phenomenon seems to reveal that the physical and the social integration with the place are not always important, or, at least, they are only important in some moments. Also, we can see it from another point of view: a removal or a replacement of a work always reveals specific strategies for certain places, in certain moments. We can thus conclude that the processes of implementation of public art are clearly indicators of the policies and of the dynamics of the cities.

Branca Revista de Arquitetura da Universidade da Beira Interior, 2016

Branca Branca evoluem. Nessa altura ia-se de avião à Covilhã, coisa impensável hoje! Eram uns táx... more Branca Branca evoluem. Nessa altura ia-se de avião à Covilhã, coisa impensável hoje! Eram uns táxis aéreos, de quatro lugares. Ia o piloto e nós, de joelhos contra joelhos, num espaço quase mais pequeno que um táxi. Fazia-se navegação à vista, era preciso simplesmente que estivesse bom tempo e tinha que se telefonar. Aconteceu-nos ir até lá e estava tudo coberto de nuvens e o avião não podia aterrar. Voltámos para Lisboa e esperámos mais um bocado. A viagem demorava uma hora… esperámos e depois voltámos! E como é que evoluiu o projecto? Começámos a ter reuniões e o Dr. Simões aprovou desde o princípio os nossos planos com muito entusiasmo. Elaborámos um plano geral muito sucinto, porque não havia um programa definido para os espaços do Instituto, era apenas uma ideia aproximada. Começámos a concretizar por fases. Começámos pela parte que estava disponível, porque o edifício da Fábrica Real de Panos do Marques de Pombal estava ainda ocupado. Pelo que a 1ª fase começou pelo lado Norte, onde estão actualmente os Serviços Académicos. Assim começámos logo por construir junto ao tecido urbano da Covilhã. Este aspecto marcou esta estrutura com um cariz próprio, porque não era um campus isolado, como é a Universidade de Aveiro ou a Universidade de Trás-os-Montes. Nessa 1ª fase funcionou o primeiro ano do Instituto Politécnico, com 30 ou quarenta alunos, não me lembro bem… e com tudo: aulas, laboratórios, parte administrativa... Depois passámos à 2ª fase, da Fábrica Real de Panos, passados três ou quatro anos. Nessa altura pedia-se já uma maior definição do programa. No total, foram cinco fases ao longo do tempo, com muitos acidentes de percurso. A 3ª fase foi uma fase complexa, com a parte dos laboratórios têxteis e das máquinas pesadas. Fomos andando, fazendo experiências. Entretanto também faliram vários empreiteiros, tivemos dificuldades na obra, apanhámos toda a turbulência do pós-25 de Abril. Felizmente houve uma excelente relação com uma empresa de construção de Abrantes, muito competente.

Arquitectas: modo(s) de (r)existir. Reflexões a partir de um ciclo de conversas, 2018

The third session of the cycle of conversations “Female architects, modes of (r)existing,” dedica... more The third session of the cycle of conversations “Female architects, modes of (r)existing,” dedicated to the theme “From academia to teaching,” has proposed looking at research in architecture and at universities, as places where professional practices and roles are learned. We have also focused on teachers and their ways of teaching and on students and their ways of learning and apprehending

Proceedings of International Colloquium Local+Global: innovative symbioses in architectural education, 2017

This presentation focuses on the teaching of Project at the Integrated Master in Architecture, at... more This presentation focuses on the teaching of Project at the Integrated Master in Architecture, at Beira Interior University, Covilhã, and in particular in a model based on the solving of real problems, in collaboration with local authorities, taking advantage of the proximity with the city.
After the beginning of the course of Architecture, at 2003-2004, it started to be requested, by external entities, some proposals for solving architectural and urban problems. This suggestions began to be embraced by some teachers. With that, it was built a set of exercises, based in "real" problems, both in the city of Covilhã or in nearby villages. The exercises covered different scales of intervention, since the scale of urban furniture to the urban scale, going through small interventions, like projects as simple as the drawing of public stairs. But also more complex buildings, such as museums and interpretive centers, expansions of schools, sports centres, among others.
In addition to promote strategies of approach between the University and the community, these experiences have been developed with educational objectives. Using the model of "ideas competition", with mixed juries, it is intended to motivate the students and to stimulate their performance at the subject. The aim is also to instil in the future architects, from an early age, the importance of civic participation and of the interdisciplinarity in the profession,

O presente artigo tem como objetivo compreender as relações entre cidades e frentes de água, a pa... more O presente artigo tem como objetivo compreender as relações entre cidades e frentes de água, a partir do caso de Lisboa, incidindo na análise morfológica das estruturas urbanas que articulam o interior do território com essas mesmas frentes. Dentro dos limites de Lisboa Cidade, serão analisadas as estruturas que possuem relevância urbanística (por serem estruturantes na malha urbana e/ou por encerrarem relevância simbólica através da presença de arte pública) e que estabelecem relação física e/ou visual com a frente de água. Pontualmente e como termo de comparação serão introduzidos alguns exemplos relativos à cidade de Barcelona.
Esta análise assume como base metodológica o contacto com o território e a observação direta do espaço, opção que mais eficazmente permite apreender o modo como a morfologia dos eixos de articulação determina aspetos relacionados com o uso do espaço, facilitando o acesso à frente de água, mas também a forma como a própria frente de água é visualmente percebida desde o interior da cidade.
O artigo estrutura-se em quatro momentos principais. Primeiramente, será estudada a forma das estruturas de articulação e sua influência na visualização da frente de água (capítulo 2.1). Depois, será abordado o perfil transversal, como aspecto caracterizador das estruturas, que nos informa acerca de questões quantitativas (dimensões dos eixos), mas também qualitativas (tipo e utilização dos espaços que os constituem) (capítulo 2.2). Por definição, todas as estruturas articulam determinadas polaridades na cidade com a frente de água. Mas conquanto estabelecem estas conexões, estabelecem também determinado tipo de relações morfológicas com a sua envolvente urbana. Assim e finalmente, com base nos conceitos de town integration e site integration (Costa, 2002) propõem-se duas escalas para a análise da integração com a envolvente: integração com os tecidos confinantes (capítulo 2.3) e integração com a cidade (capítulo 2.4).

OCHOA, Rita; SAMPAYO, Mafalda Gambutas Teixeira de - Cidade e frente de água: proposta gráfica de... more OCHOA, Rita; SAMPAYO, Mafalda Gambutas Teixeira de - Cidade e frente de água: proposta gráfica de análise. In livro de Resumos do 3º Encontro Nacional de História das Ciências e da Tecnologia - Ciência Crise e Mudança. Casal de Cambra: Caleidoscópio, Setembro 2012, pp. 49-50.
ISBN: 978-989-658-189-3

Public space as a city element has articulation properties fundamental in urban design. Looking i... more Public space as a city element has articulation properties fundamental in urban design. Looking into urban space evolution, there are always new transformations showing up that change the city image, as well as habits and uses. The waterfronts reflect these urban mutations through different development phases influenced by the mobility evolution among other aspects. All the theorical part joins contents that will be applied in a first phase, where it starts to introduces the city / public space relation. The social component plays a relevant role where the relation between people and space must not be forgotten at all. Waterfronts are simultaneous introduced here as a new chapter. They are studied by their mutations over time. The waterfronts rediscovery turns them in to new public spaces. During this chapter the most emblematic cases are described, where an historic sequence are created, from a international scenery to a national. In a second phase, the work takes a study about some specific cities and their complex relations with waterfronts. To proceed with it, a selection is created where a study segment shows cases along Rio Tejo: from Lisbon to Abrantes. This analysis gives, in a practice notion, the potentiality of each space, what takes the process to a new phase: architecture project. The analysis continues in one single study case (Santarém), where the city and its evolution become elements of study and essential to the waterfront regeneration project in Ribeira de Santarém. To proceed with it, it was important realize the real local needs, showing architecture as shape modulator tool. A multifunctional program starts an urban regeneration, having the revitalization, reuse and reconnection between center city and its waterfront, as the main propose.

This paper aims to analyse how urban form can influence the configuration of a project, based on ... more This paper aims to analyse how urban form can influence the configuration of a project, based
on the thesis "Vazios devolutos – reinterpretações arquitectónicas em quarteirões do centro da cidade de
Guimarães", held at the Master Degree in Architecture from the University of Beira Interior. From a
methodology strongly based on the contact with the territory, through both insightful observation in situ
and their respective experiences, as a rigorous analysis of urban morphology, later graphically
systematized, were carried into space: dubbed the "central block”. It was also investigated the current
needs of the space, upon which was developed a subversion draft of the interior structure thereof. After
parallel analysis of current shortcomings in the city, a program based on two fundamental assumptions
was built: i) increased parking lot space and; ii) the introduction of public green space in the urban
environment. The urban analysis will determine the resolution of the project, whether by the underground
floor (parking), that after a "cleaning" of vacant buildings inside the block, it presents itself as a negative
of the new configuration limit, transposed to a new level; either by the ground floor (public green space),
which sees in all its new extension a green flooring, occasionally marked by "carpets" of different
materials originated in the new areas of trade perimeter of existing buildings on the block, as conjugates
the memory of old servitude pathways.

In our contemporary cities, public art plays an important role, in urban regeneration processes a... more In our contemporary cities, public art plays an important role, in urban regeneration
processes and in the construction of social identities. Its placement on the public space raises several
questions: which spaces are elected for the implementation of public art? In those spaces, what kind of
relations are established between its morphologic characteristics and the new interventions? Finally, is it
possible to identify models of placement? Despite the lack of systematization of these themes, some
authors focuses on the interaction between urban space and public art, in a framework that positions it
across different disciplines. In Lisbon, the criteria for the placement of public art are not always evident.
Most of the times, there is not a true spatial integration. In this sense, this paper proposes an analysis of
two artistic interventions, on Lisbon’s waterfront: The intervention in a viaduct, by Eduardo Nery (2003);
The work Lisbon (a tribute to the builders of the city), by José de Guimarães (1999). By the way as they
dialogue with its context, both interventions are in the opposite attitude of an understanding of public art
as decorative objects on the public space. In fact, both contribute not only to the physical, visual and
symbolic enhancement of the place, but also to the monumentalization of the waterfront.

The article focuses on the interdisciplinarity in Urbanism, trough the perspective of teaching, a... more The article focuses on the interdisciplinarity in Urbanism, trough the perspective of teaching, addressing how the project design studios can reinforce the convergence of different areas of knowledge, by facing concrete urban problems.
In this sense, it uses tree case studies of the teaching of Urbanism in Portugal, in the formation of architects and landscape architects, in three different faculties, both on the first and second cycles of studies of the 2013-2014 school year: (1) the 5th year project design studio on the Integrated Master in Architecture, with specialization in Urbanism, at the Faculty of Architecture, Lisbon University; (2) the Urbanism curricular unit of the 4th year of Landscape Architecture Master, in the Agronomy Higher Institute, at the same university, and; (3) the 1st year project design studio on the Integrated Master in Architecture, at the Beira Interior University.
Developing a practical exercise on concrete territories, the teaching of Urbanism is obliged to face urban problems with different disciplinary approaches. It certainly allows for the development of the disciplinary potentialities, as it should be the objective; but it also confronts the students with the need to interact with other areas of knowledge, in order to find the necessary tools to address these urban questions, some not being central ones on the course plan.
On a complex and multifaceted urban context, as it is the contemporary one, problems don’t have disciplines. In that sense, the role of the project design studio teacher becomes central to open interdisciplinary horizons, e.g.: (1) coordinating the practical exercise with other curricular units; (2) joining contributions by experts from other areas of knowledge, or; (3) reinforcing the amplitude of the problems students are addressing, both in classes and in the tutorial development of the exercise.