As intervenções contemporâneas em bens culturais patrimonializados. O caso de Portugal.

Abstract

This article instigates to reflect upon contemporary interventions in cultural goods with a heritage status. If in Brazil, some resistance can be found in accepting these interventions, in other places it is possible to find examples that are worth of consideration. Internationally, Portugal reveals itself as a potential subject of study. In which way the Portuguese have been achieving the recognized quality in their contemporary heritage interventions in cultural goods? Have the interventions contributed to its sustainability? To answer these questions, the article is divided in introduction, theoretical framework, case studies and conclusion. In the theoretical framework, the terms “culture” and “heritage” are explored altogether with the exploration of the theory “The Modern Cult of Monuments” by Alois Riegl. The concepts and theory are then reworked and contextualised in the case studies, all of them located in the city of Porto, Portugal. The first considers the urban scale and analyses the intervention done in the Ribeira, alongside the river D’ouro banks. The second, works between the urban and the built heritage, studying Lisboa Square, located in the immediate surroundings of Cléricos’ Church. Finally, the third case study explores the new building of the Serralves Foundation, an intervention distant from the city, but by the garden and museum-residence. In the end, the conclusions point to the fact that the Portuguese have been achieving high quality in their contemporary interventions, always adding new values to the spaces or buildings that already have heritage status, the port, the church and the Serralves Foundation.