The Communal Memorial project is a temporary social support structure for an eventual post-catastrophe period in greater Lisbon, applicable to several locations. It provides some clues on how architecture can influence and stimulate social connections through the design of circulation and public areas as polyvalent places.
Linked to each other, the circulation spaces in-between the main rooms generate a democratic and open public area that comprises furnished zones usable for diverse and undetermined activities. This stimulates permanence and the emergence of unexpected encounters between building users.
Social participation is similarly understood as a means of uniting people and emotionally connecting them with the built environment: the external room walls are blank canvases for everybody to express feelings by writing or drawing, creating all together a living memorial for communal mourning. After the post-catastrophe period, the memorial can be displayed for remembrance.
The diversity of external covered and furnished spaces allows for rich and diverse social activities to take place: a central gathering space where bigger groups can meet; smaller more intimate spaces open to the surroundings where to read a book or chat in small groups; a service access area where the staff can have a snack.
Administrative Support room image
Project Context: Awarded work (3rd prize) in the theme competition: c.a.s.a. post-catastrophe (centre for social and administrative support), promoted by the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML) in co-organization with the Southern Regional Section of the Portuguese Association of Architects (OASRS) in August 2016.
