Bolhão Market Rehabilitation project: architectural and political strategies 1990-2020

1. Four programs – four projects

The Bolhão Market is a double listed building: for its architecture and for its cultural value, intrinsic to its function. The soul of the building, or l’esprit de lieu, depends on the conservation of the life experiences it has always provided, as well as of the established form of trade. While the conjugation with modern demands of any commercial activity is necessary, the place’s tradition and history must be respected. There is a specific space and dimension to this relationship, which requires the preservation of the strong cultural identity of this market (pic. 1 and 2). 1 2

With distinct programmes, all proposals seek an improvement in comfort, accessibility, hygiene, health, and safety. We will thus make a thorough analysis herein of how the four rehabilitations for the Bolhão Market play out.

The paper pursues this analysis by using architectural tools that compare the several proposals with respect to their programmes (functional distribution) and to the construction areas. The elaboration of colour schemes to compare the architectural design programmes of each proposal (floor plans and cuts) enables an accurate, conclusive analysis, which demonstrates the contrast between the existent building and what each programme adds in all the rehabilitation projects (pic. 3, 4 and 5).

1.1) 1992-1998, Architect Joaquim Massena

In 1992, with Fernando Gomes as Mayor of the Porto City Council (CMP), an International Public Contest was launched. The winning project belonged to architect Joaquim Massena and was developed from 1994 to 1998 up to the Execution Project stage.

That project keeps the market uncovered and proposes the demolition of the central passage, redefining the original form of the block (pic. 6). On the terrace, the user’s comfort issue was not addressed, leaving the circulation paths exposed to the elements. In this way, the tents with frames are closed, which would bring unavoidable consequences to the seller-buyer relationship (pic. 7).

At an intermediate level between Terrado and the pre-existing gallery, a new floor/gallery is created with the same extension as the pre-existing gallery, interrupting the vertical reading of the colonnade of iron cast pillars. This new floor is accessed by two pairs of escalators that flank the main entrance to the Market (pic. 8). Along all the walls of the terrace, on two levels (Terrado and new intermediate floor) new stores are created, closed with frames, for which the integration of an air conditioning system was foreseen (pic. 9 and 10). In the buried areas under Sá da Bandeira Street (cryptoportico) large rooms for exhibitions or events were envisaged (pic. 11).

Two basement floors for support areas, parking and loading and unloading areas, which accessed to would be made from the city’s highest level (entrance in a two-way ramp from the square on street Fernandes Tomás) (pic. 12). The excavation would take place inside the block, the peripheral face of this basement coincides with the alignment of the iron cast pillars which inevitably would jeopardize the preservation of the gallery floor (pic. 8,9 and 13).

Despite concluded and ready to carry out the rehabilitation, works never began.

1.2) 2006-2008, Tram Crone

During Mayor Nuno Cardoso’s mandate at CMP (from 1999 to 2002) there were no developments. It would only be in 2006, during the second mandate of Rui Rio, that urban politics refocused on rehabilitating this facility, under Councillor for Urbanism Lino Ferreira. A new International Public Contest was then launched. The winner was Dutch real estate project company Tram Crone.

The reading of the program of the Contest, the records from the 13th Executive meeting (21 February 2006) and the proposal approved by the Executive City Council and Parliament City Council, it can be noticed that the basic premises for the rehabilitation of this building were profoundly changed, transforming irremediably the spirit of the intervention sought by the CMP. For example, it is suggested that the usable floor space increases as well as that the traditional market should be confined to the Terrado area or "equivalent". The integration of other areas is also requested which functional typology should be justified on the management model and economic viability research. In this way, the winning proposal represented a massive change of the pre-existing building, with a very expressive expansion of the gross building area, a total of 7 floors in a volume like the original plan and also adding a five-floor housing tower on the roof of the Market (pic. 14 and 15).

Two basement floors were recommended for parking and loading and unloading, which would occupy the entire width of the block, compromising inevitably the building preservation. The access would be made from the same square, at the highest level of the city, and the access ramp having only one circulation lane. On the basement floors, it was envisaged the construction of two complete interior floors of a covered shopping centre, with a passageway to access convenience stores. On top of this volumetry, there would be the open-air “traditional market” (level with entry from street Fernandes Tomás), with a possible integration of a removable cover to enable the use of the market throughout the year. Finally, two new upper floors were advanced – to be located on the outer edge of the block/quarter - with a housing program (pic. 16, 17 and 18).

Following the above, it is clear that that project for Bolhão would call for an important demolition action of the pre-existing building.

Despite winning, this proposal received massive and consensual public criticism from the majority of the population and was also rejected by the former Institute for the Management of Architectural and Archaeological Heritage (IGESPAR). This led to the cancellation of the tendering procedure in September 2008.

1.3) 2008-2013, DRCN (Architect João Carlos Santos)

In December of the same year, the Mayor celebrated a cooperation project between Porto’s City Council, IGESPAR and Northern Portugal's Regional Directorate of Culture (DRCN) in order to quickly carry out a new rehabilitation project for the Bolhão Market. The project was to be elaborated by the DRCN under the supervision and authorship of Architect João Carlos Santos.

This new program for the Market refocuses the goal for the market a local and a community market. In this program, the needs of providing coverage for “the open area defined by the built-up interior limit”, an area for loading and unloading, and parking area were defined. From the analysis of the program presented by the DRCN is highlighted the importance of respecting the characteristics of the building and its classification and the fact that the program now determined is contained and flexible, allowing for its confinement to the existing area in the original construction.

This third proposal for the rehabilitation of the Bolhão Market was prepared and it was developed up until the Execution Project stage. In this proposal, the construction of a metallic roof (pic. 19) over the entire central square was considered (reinterpretation of the roof of the original project by Arch. António Correia da Silva - a roof that was not executed) and that necessarily changes the perception of the space experienced in the Bolhão Market: on the one hand, erases the gallery's coverage (completely changing the scale of this place), and, on the other hand, transforms the Market into an interior space, with controlled light and demanding air conditioning (pic. 20 and 21, 22 and 23).

The proposal pictured the execution of two basement floors for technical support, parking and loading and unloading. This basement would be in the alignment of the iron cast colonnade pillars, in collision with the preservation of the gallery (pic. 24). The access to the basement was by a two-way ramp from Alexandre Braga Street, constraining severely the traffic (which consequently would have only one carriageway), and disturbing one of the most relevant streets in the city (pic. 25 and 26). In the proposal the ground floor was levelled forcing the execution of cuts and/or the addition of prostheses in all iron cast pillars, and the also the building of new stairs and/or ramps in the transition to the entrance at Formosa Street and the north staircase (pic. 27). The central walkway would be demolished and a new one, much narrower, was proposed to which four glass lifts are attached to provide access to the different levels (pic. 28 and 29).

1.4) 2014-2016, CMP (Arq. Nuno Valentim)

By the end of 2013, new Mayor Rui Moreira takes office and names architects Manel Correia Fernandes and Pedro Baganha to be Councillors for Urbanism, as well as Paulo Cunha e Silva to be in charge of Culture. Mayor Rui Moreira sought the revision of the entire project, more specifically the deletion of the proposed underground park and the covering over the open central patio so as to significantly reduce the intervention areas. After soliciting the DRCN a project revision, which was denied, the Mayor opted for a new rehabilitation project by architect Nuno Valentim, under CMP supervision. This proposal was developed between 2014 and 2016 up to the Execution Project stage and ongoing works began in May 2018.

The Preliminary Program announced by the City Council for Bolhão Market reinforces its role as a municipal and local fresh market.

The fourth rehabilitation proposal for Bolhão returns to an uncovered market (pic. 30), preserving the reading of the open market square, and returning to the gallery's roof rehabilitation proposal. Thus, with this project it is maintained the current scale and its unique functioning (pic. 31 and 32, 33 and 34).

At the terrace level some changes were introduced to maintain the original scale and geometry: the existing slope is maintained and the reinterpretation of the roof tents and lightened structures to protect the traffic (pic. 35 and 36). This new coverage is intended to respond to some problems detected by the observation in loco. The old tents were not adequate for a contemporary fresh market, and they often ended up as rubbish deposit as a result of the great inadequacy of the old tents to the requirements of a contemporary fresh market, as their geometry/dimension, materials and the very location often led to their improper use, namely as a deposit (pic. 37).

At the basement level, the proposal foresees the integration of a small loading and unloading dock and supporting areas (pic. 38). The outer perimeter of this floor is 2.5m away from the perimeter defined by the iron cast pillars colonnade, enabling its construction without interfering with the existing building (pic. 39). The access to this basement will be made through a tunnel, at Ateneu Comercial street, freeing the surrounding streets and public space (pic. 40).

The walkway is replaced by a new one in iron, which copies the language of the building, reproducing the metrics of the coffers on the gallery's slab. This walkway creates a new level at the lower level, directly connecting Alexandre Braga and Sá da Bandeira streets (pic. 41 and 42). At the upper level, the market will have no roof, avoiding interruptions between the skyline and the Beaux Arts profile, allowing the possibility of reading this profile in the building's crowning, evident in the movement of the plat band, roofs, and slate domes (pic. 43 and 44).

2) CONCLUSIONS

The need for rehabilitation of the city's central historic markets is a political, human, and architectural challenge - which today is at the centre of policy decisions both nationally and internationally.

The Bolhão market is a unique case study as it has been the subject of four political and architectural different perspectives in the last 30 years.

The work that currently is being made corresponds to the project that proposes less construction, integrating more of existing materials. It is also the project that less diverges from the original Fresh Market program which design, and development was closely monitored by an important survey of the sellers' sociocultural conditions, prepared by the Bolhão Market Office, created by the CMP for that end. It should also be mentioned that the new logistic basement is the least intrusive (excavated only in the centre of Terrado) and does not occupy public space above ground for road access.

This proposal is naturally the result of a circumstance rooted in three fundamental considerations:

1. It comes as a result of several proposals for the rehabilitation of the Market, benefiting from previous suggestions.
2. The political decision was taken in an informed way - architecturally and culturally - and with the courage to reduce the scale of intervention and to believe in a cultural change in the pattern of consumption which implies creating conditions for a return to the markets.
3. This project team makes a hierarchy of values different from the previous ones, understanding that the first value is the activity of market itself, together with the maintenance of the uncovered square, respecting the originalities of the building.