Ana C Fernandes

This publication collects abstracts and papers produced for the international working conference on Educational Architecture – Education, Heritage, Challenges held in Lisbon on May 6-8, 2019 at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, organized in the scope of the research project "Atlas of School Architecture in Portugal – Education, Heritage and Challenges" (2016-2019) funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia.

Link to the publication: http://asap-ehc.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/conference/ebook.php.

Atlas of School Architecture in Portugal – Education, Heritage and Challenges is a research project funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology) and involving a group of researchers from different universities and different fields of study: architecture, education, history, town planning, interior design/furniture, construction, energy efficiency and documentation. ASAP-EHC seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of school architecture in Portugal, focusing on buildings for secondary (lyceums and technical schools) and middle school education (industrial institutes, agricultural schools and primary schools), promoted by the State and built between the late nineteenth century and the early 1970s, when a major reform was introduced, changing the educational paradigm in Portugal. The research has the support of the historical archive of the Secretaria-Geral do Ministério da Educação e Ciência (SGMEC – General Secretariat of the Ministry of Education and Science), as the participating institution, which houses important documentary resources in its archives, mainly about public school buildings.
The aims of the research are:
1. To identify the interactions between educational policies, political ideologies, social and economic concerns, and their impact on the design and use of schools;
2. To understand the multi and interdisciplinary approach to the topic of school design, making crossovers between such disciplines as education, architecture, interior design/furniture, history, town planning, construction and technology, and energy efficiency;
3. To identify the uniqueness of the Portuguese approach to school design, its evolution, specificities, innovations and influences, based on two distinct methodologies:
- Analysis of the documentation that is available in the SGMEC archives, complemented by a detailed survey of libraries, architects’ private collections, school archives, etc.;
- Comparative analysis of the situation in other countries, particularly in Europe and North America, identifying influences, similarities and divergences, and determining the extent of autonomy in the Portuguese case;
4. To raise awareness about the architectural heritage of Portuguese school building, identifying its potentialities, constraints, weaknesses and the extent of its resilience, and recognising its identity, architectural values and cultural significance.

This paper aims at analysing the conceptual strategies and design principles adopted in the renovation process of two school buildings located in the cities of Lisbon and Beja, which are part of the modern heritage of Portugal, addressing the adaptation of the original buildings to current functional, environmental, safety and construction requirements. It is now possible to make a reflexion and critical review of the process, after the renovation and a period of users' adaptation to the renewed schools, in order to identify best practices and improvement areas for future interventions.
The main research question focuses on the adaptive capacity of modern school buildings to assimilate the current requirements in different domains while keeping the values of their modern identity. It is assessed how the renovation processes of two case studies suited contemporary educational challenges, the programmatic requirements, current safety directives, environmental requisites, and how these affect atmospheres, interior and identity of the building. This study was based on documentation analysis, site visits, interviews, and a post-occupancy evaluation.
The analysis of these two cases is therefore an opportunity to discuss the process of renovation of modern school buildings, stressing good practices and failures in these processes.

In the 1960s, the paradigm of school architecture in Portugal shifted from a traditional to a more experimental educational approach. Maria do Carmo Matos (1935-89) played a central role in this process, since she led a team of architects in the Department of Construction for Technical and Secondary Education (1934-69). In a men’s world, she stood out not only for her ideas on an innovative design and construction approach but also by promoting international contacts with intergovernmental organizations.
Maria do Carmo largely contributed to the pursuit of the right to education to all children with the adoption of rational procedures in school building design. A new approach was adopted to increase school construction efficacy based on a new design methodology, on industrialized and rationalised systems, and on effective cost and planning control procedures.
This paper focuses on the contribution of Maria do Carmo to the promotion of an innovative design for educational buildings. The schools constitute simple and pragmatic buildings, without any particular architectural aspirations or significant expression of modern design vocabulary. However, those schools accomplished the social aim of the modern movement, and Maria do Carmo played a crucial but mostly anonymous role.