The tectonic shift in Fernando Távora’s work in the Post-CIAM years

THE TECTONIC SHIFT IN FERNANDO TÁVORA’S WORK IN THE POST- CIAM YEARS. Edua do Fe nandes LAB2PT, Escola de A qui e u a da Uni e sidade do Minho / LAB2PT, School o A chi ec u e o he Uni e si y o Minho, Guima ães, Po ugal. Abs ac Be ween 1955 and 1960 he Po uguese a chi ec Fe nando Tá o a (1923-2005) designed an impo an g oup o buildings: he municipal ma ke o Vila da Fei a, he house in O í , he ennis pa ilion o Quin a da Conceição in Leça da Palmei a and he p ima y school o Ced o in Gaia. These buildings a e landma ks in he his o y o Po uguese a chi ec u e; in hei design, Tá o a employed adi ional ma e ials (s one, imbe , ile) and eused e nacula cons uc ion echniques (bea ing walls, wooden beams and pi ched oo s) wi hin a mode n app oach. This a i ude is di ec ly ela ed o he esul s o he Su eys on Po uguese Ve nacula A chi ec u e, p omo ed by he Union o he Po uguese A chi ec s be ween 1955 and 1960 and conduc ed by some o he mos enowned Po uguese a chi ec s; Fe nando Tá o a was esponsible o he wo k in ‘Zone 1’ and lea ned how o ecognize he p esence o a ce ain kind o ‘mode ni y’ in he Ve nacula A chi ec u e o he no h o he coun y. Howe e , a e 1960 his language changed and he di ec in luence o he e nacula began o be less ob ious. In o de o unde s and he e olu ion o his wo k a his ime, i is impo an o emembe ha Tá o a was p esen a he main in e na ional a chi ec u al mee ings, whe e he had he oppo uni y o con ac he key names o he wo ldwide a chi ec u al communi y: he in eg a ed he Po uguese ep esen a ions p esen in he las CIAM Cong esses and also pa icipa ed in he Royaumon mee ing o he Team Ten. Besides, in 1960 Tá o a made a h ee-mon h jou ney o he Uni ed S a es and pa icipa ed in he Wo ld Design Con e ence in Japan. These in e na ional con ac s and expe iences we e impo an o he e hinking o concep s ha led o he di e en languages we can ind in he buildings he designed a e 1960. Keywo ds: Tá o a, CIAM, Team Ten, Ve nacula , Mode n. REVISITING POST-CIAM GENERATION: deba es, p oposals and in ellec ual amewo k P oceedings. Po o, Ap il 11-13, 2019 121 In odu ion In he 40s, Po ugal li ed in a con ex domina ed by he conse a i e ision o he dic a o ial egime o Salaza , in which he S a e imposed on he a chi ec s a se o guidelines inspi ed by alleged na ional alues. A e he end o Wo ld Wa II, he new gene a ions o a chi ec s ained unde he in luence o Ca los Ramos and Keil do Ama al began o challenge his eali y, de ending he use o a mode n language. This eac ion agains he conse a i e iew o he S a e eached i s highes poin in he Cong ess o Po uguese A chi ec s o 1948, domina ed by he opposi ion be ween hose who de ended an a chaic idea o Po uguese alues and hose who p oposed an a chi ec u e di ec ly in luenced by he di e en exp essions o he mode n mo emen . In his con ex o a con on a ion be ween wo an agonis ic posi ions, Fe nando Tá o a (1923-2005) p oposed a hi d way, which ma ked he Po uguese a chi ec u e in he pos -Ciam yea s. Howe e , when we analyse he e olu ion o Tá o a’s wo k, i is e iden he exis ence o h ee qui e dis inc phases. The i s , be ween he publica ion o he ex ‘The P oblem o he Po uguese house’ (‘O P oblema da Casa Po uguesa’, 1945) and he beginning o he design p ocess o he municipal ma ke o Vila da Fei a (1954), is a pe iod ma ked by an impo an heo e ical p oduc ion, bu also by he di icul y o conc e izing in p ac ice he ideas p esen ed in his ex s. In ac , be o e 1954 we canno ecognize in his wo k he ideas p esen ed in he ci ed ex (Tá o a, 1945) and in he se o w i en e lec ions published in Cade nos de A qui ec u a (Tá o a, 1947),1 in he newspape Comé cio do Po o (1953) and in he magazines Pano ama (1952a), Lusíada (1952b) and A A qui ec u a Po uguesa, Ce âmica e Edi icação (1953). 1 The 1947 publica ion o The P oblem o he Po uguese House in Cade nos de A qui ec u a is simila in he global sense, bu p esen s some di e ences o wo ding, eph asing he ex o he same name published wo yea s ea lie in he magazine Àleo; i is his second e sion (imp o ed by i s au ho ) ha is usually quo ed by hose who s udy he heo e ical p oduc ion o Tá o a. Edua do Fe nandes, The ec onic shi in Fe nando Tá o a’s wo k in he Pos -CIAM yea s 122 The p ojec s Tá o a s a ed in 1952 ( he block o A enida do B asil, he Ramalde economic housing complex and he G oce y Wholesale s esiden ial uni , all buil in he ci y o Po o) a e espec able wo ks o a young mode n a chi ec , bu hey do no ye show an idea o ‘mode ni y’ mani es ed ‘in he quali y and accu acy o he ela ions be ween he building and he li e ha su ounds i " (Tá o a, 1952b). In o he wo ds, i was an a chi ec u e design acco ding o i s ime (mode n), bu no acco ding o he cul u al condi ions o i s place (Po uguese). This idea o a new Po uguese A chi ec u e only appea ed in he wo k o Tá o a in a second phase, in he p ojec s began a e 1954, mainly in he Municipal Ma ke o Vila da Fei a (1954-59), he O í House (1957-58), he Tennis Pa ilion o Quin a da Conceição (1956-59) and he Ced o Elemen a y School (1957-61). This second phase o Ta o a's wo k occu ed in pa allel wi h he wo k p ocess o he Su eys on Po uguese Ve nacula A chi ec u e (1955-60), a la ge p og am p omo ed by he Union o he Po uguese A chi ec s and conduc ed by some o he mos enowned a chi ec s om Po o and Lisbon. These Su eys allowed he ein e p e a ion o he adi ional ec onic sys ems o Po uguese e nacula cons uc ions in he ligh o mode n p inciples o a ionali y, unc ionalism and u h ul use o ma e ials. In he book A qui ec u a Popula em Po ugal (Ve nacula A chi ec u e in Po ugal) published in 1961 as a di ec esul o he esea ch ca ied ou be ween 1955 and 1960, he epo o ‘Zone 1’2 (coo dina ed by Tá o a) con i ms some o he ideas al eady w i en in he abo emen ioned ex ‘The P oblem o he Po uguese house’: ‘Man and Ea h’ a e he wo undamen al elemen s ha condi ion e nacula a chi ec u e, which is ealized ‘wi hin he Po uguese u h’, and he ancien u al house is ‘ he ues , mos unc ional and less anci ul’ (Tá o a, 1945). 2 The ‘Zone 1’ o he Su eys on Po uguese Ve nacula A chi ec u e co e ed he geog aphic a eas o Minho, Dou o Li o al and Bei a Li o al; Tá o a was he coo dina o o a eam which also included Rui Pimen el and An ónio Mené es. REVISITING POST-CIAM GENERATION: deba es, p oposals and in ellec ual amewo k P oceedings. Po o, Ap il 11-13, 2019 123 So, in his second phase o Tá o a’s wo k he e was a e y clea ec onic shi , which was isibly in luenced by he e nacula ec onics s udied in he Su eys, which we e ein e p e ed wi h a mode n design. Howe e , a e a b ie pe iod o ime his language changed again; Tá o a sensed ha he o mal in luence o e nacula a chi ec u e symbolized an a emp o c ys allize a eali y ha was, in ac , apidly disappea ing and could no ansla e he con empo a y imes. So, om his momen on, we can alk o a hi d phase in Tá o a’s wo k, in which he in luence o e nacula ec onics is no e iden . The disco e y o a hi d way Du ing he yea s o he Su ey, in he abo emen ioned second phase o his wo k, Tá o a inally managed o achie e he p ac ical ealisa ion o he ideas p e iously p esen ed in his ex s. His in en ions a e clea ly syn he ized in he wo ds he w o e abou he holiday house o O í , which can also cha ac e ize all he o he buildings he designed in his pe iod. One o he mos elemen a y no ions o chemis y eaches us he di e ence be ween a compound and a mix u e; such a no ion seems o us o be pe ec ly applicable, in essence, o he pa icula case o a building. In ac he e a e buildings ha a e compounds and buildings ha a e mix u es (...) and in he p esen case o his dwelling (…) we ied o build a ue compound, a compound in which an in ini e numbe o ac o s, o a ying alue, came in o play. (Tá o a, 1957, p. 11) In ac , he wo k designed in his second phase shows ha Tá o a inally unde s ood how o combine his pa icula in e p e a ion o he mode n mo emen and his uncondi ional lo e o Po uguese e nacula cons uc ion, in a compound o o eign in luences and local cha ac e he managed o apply in Vila da Fei a, Gaia, O í and Leça da Palmei a, almos a he same ime. Edua do Fe nandes, The ec onic shi in Fe nando Tá o a’s wo k in he Pos -CIAM yea s 124 Howe e , in o de o unde s and his impo an e olu ion o his wo k a his ime, i is essen ial o emembe ha Tá o a in eg a ed he Po uguese ep esen a ions p esen in he las CIAM3 mee ings (Hoddesdon, Aix-en-P o ence and Dub o nik), whe e he had he oppo uni y o con ac wi h he key names o he wo ldwide a chi ec u al milieu and wi nessed he con on a ion be ween he young u u e membe s o he Team Ten and he olde (and mo e o hodox) membe s o CIAM. In some a chi ec s o he new gene a ion, he ecognized a heo e ical posi ion ha was close o his ideas. Thus, in hese CIAM mee ings he could con i m he pe inence o he ‘ hi d way’ he de ended, as an al e na i e o he ha sh na ionalism o he S a e and he s ic in e na ionalism o mos o his colleagues. Figu e 1. P ojec o he Tennis Pa ilion o Quin a da Conceição. Tá o a, 1957. A chi es o Ma ques da Sil a Founda ion (FIMS/FT/0036-pd008). 3 The CIAM (Cong ès In e na ionaux d'A chi ec u e Mode ne) we e he mos impo an o um o a chi ec u al deba e in he i s hal o he wen ie h cen u y; be ween 1928 and 1956, en mee ings we e held in eigh di e en coun ies. REVISITING POST-CIAM GENERATION: deba es, p oposals and in ellec ual amewo k P oceedings. Po o, Ap il 11-13, 2019 125 The ein e p e a ion o adi ional alues in mode n a chi ec u e was a heme e y p esen in he Japanese a chi ec u e o he ime, namely in he wo k o Kenzo Tange. Tá o a me him in 1951, in Hoddesdon, whe e he p esen ed his d awings o he Hi oshima Peace Cen e and Memo ial Pa k; hey sha ed he same p inciples and became iends, as Tá o a e e s when he emembe s (in his dia y) hei eunion in Tokyo, in he Wo ld Design Con e ence o 1960 (Tá o a, 1960a, p. 305).4 The pa icula app oach o Tange’s i s wo ks was e y simila o he ideas Tá o a was ying o implemen in his own a chi ec u e. Thus, he esemblances be ween Tá o a’s ennis pa ilion in Leça da Palmei a ( ig. 1) and he house Tange designed o himsel in Tokio (1951-53) a e no su p ising: bo h wo ks a e an in en ional compound o mode n design and adi ional alues. The e o e, he ideas and he wo k o Tange (and o o he CIAM pa icipan s) we e e y in luen ial in he new cha ac e his a chi ec u e showed, in his second phase. Tá o a inally disco e ed how o ela e he o mal and concep ual in luences om a chi ec s o he mode n mo emen (Co busie in Vila da Fei a, Kenzo Tange in he abo emen ioned ennis pa ilion o Quin a da Conceição, Ma cel B eue in he house o O í , Al a Aal o in he school o Ced o) wi h his knowledge o he e nacula he i age, ein o ced by he lessons he was lea ning in he Su eys. Howe e , he s udy o he wo k o o eign a chi ec s and he in en ional use o hei p inciples and o ms, adap ed o he Po uguese eali y and cul u al alues, was a philosophy al eady exp essed in he a o emen ioned i s ex o Tá o a. A new cha ac e o new condi ions a ises and i is he e ha he Po uguese A chi ec u e mus be connec ed wi hou ea o losing i s cha ac e . I we ha e indi iduali y oday, he s udy o o eign a chi ec u e will no cause us any e il; i we do no ha e i , hen i will be useless o ha e he p e ension o speak abou Po uguese A chi ec u e. (Tá o a, 1945) The e o e, his philosophy (exp essed in w i ing en yea s be o e) became a me hodology o design in his second phase and ga e ise o he wo ks men ioned 4 Tá o a and Tange we e also p esen a he 1959 mee ing o Team X, in O e lo. Edua do Fe nandes, The ec onic shi in Fe nando Tá o a’s wo k in he Pos -CIAM yea s 126 abo e, miles ones in he his o y o Po uguese a chi ec u e o he wen ie h cen u y. Howe e , a e 1960 he a chi ec u e o Tá o a changed again. F om Seia o Guima ães, om Chicago o Taliesen We can es ablish he beginning o Fe nando Tá o a's hi d phase as a consequence o a second language shi , be ween 1958 and 1959. In ha pe iod, he designed wo uel s a ions in he no h o Po ugal, o he same clien ( he Saco uel company) and wi h he same ype o loca ion, a na ional oad on he ou ski s o wo medium-sized ci ies, Guima ães and Seia. The e seems o be no eason ha can jus i y any subs an ial di e ences in hei design; ye , he ec onic op ions o Tá o a we e qui e dis inc (Fe nandes, 2016). The p ojec o he Saco uel s a ion in Seia was ini ia ed in 1958; he p elimina y p oposal p esen ed o he clien s in June o he same yea es ablishes he solu ion ha will be p esen ed in he p ojec , wi h mino changes, in Decembe 1959. Howe e , 8 mon hs be o e he deli e y o he Seia p ojec , Tá o a had al eady submi ed o Saco he p elimina y p oposal o he pe ol s a ion o Guima ães (in Ap il 1959), commissioned he p e ious yea ; as he i s p oposal o Seia, his p elimina y p oposal o Guima ães p esen ed g ea esemblance wi h he inal p ojec (Sep embe 1960).5 Like in his abo emen ioned wo k in Vila da Fei a, Leça da Palmei a and O í , Tá o a achie es in Seia ( ig. 2) a pe ec combina ion o local ma e ials and adi ional 5 In he a chi es o Ma ques da Sil a Founda ion (whe e Fe nando Tá o a’s legacy is kep ) we can ind all he in e ac ions wi h he Saco company documen ed. The i s commission was a s udy o he loca ion o pe ol s a ions in he ci y o Po o and i s en i ons; he p oposal was submi ed in No embe 1957. The p ojec o he uel s a ion in Seia was designed be ween 1958 and 1959, wi h he collabo a ion o Albe o Ne es and Augus o Ama al; some addi ions we e designed be ween 1961 and 1965 (unbuil ). In June 1959 Tá o a designed a p o o ype p ojec o he Saco pe ol s a ions, wi h he collabo a ion o Vasco Cunha, and p esen ed he i s s udies o he Gaia s a ion; a second s udy o Gaia was p esen ed in July 1960. Be ween 1959 and 1961 Tá o a designed he pe ol s a ion o Guima ães (wi h he collabo a ion o Augus o Ama al), commissioned in he p e ious yea . The e we e some small adjus men s designed in 1963 and 1965, and he e o mula ion and enla gemen o he building, p oposing a Res au an , was designed wi h he collabo a ion o Joaquim Sampaio and p esen ed in 1966 (unbuil ). REVISITING POST-CIAM GENERATION: deba es, p oposals and in ellec ual amewo k P oceedings. Po o, Ap il 11-13, 2019 127 cons uc ion echniques (using s one bea ing walls, imbe beans and iles) wi h mode n ones (big glass windows and ein o ced conc e e slabs) which, acco ding o he ‘spi i ha p esided o he design’, in ended a ‘good in eg a ion in he en i onmen ’ (Tá o a, 1960b, p. 3). Howe e , al hough i was designed ew mon hs a e ,6 he Guima ães Fuel S a ion p esen ed di e en ec onic op ions. Al hough i is s ill possible o ecognize he in luence o he Ve nacula A chi ec u e o he no h o he coun y, i is ma e ialized in a less ob ious way: he bea ing walls in g ani e s one a e combined wi h la oo s in ein o ced conc e e and me al pilla s, as he conce n o showing he possibili ies o con empo a y echniques eplaced he di ec e e ences o adi ional cons uc ion. Figu e 2. P ojec o he o ice, s o e and es au an o he Saco uel s a ion in Seia; Tá o a, Decembe 1959. A chi es o Ma ques da Sil a Founda ion (FIMS_FT_0101-pd0018.02). This was he beginning o a second ec onic shi in Tá o a’s wo k, which is clea ly embodied by he di e ence be ween he sloped oo in iles o Seia and he la slab in ein o ced conc e e o Guima ães ( ig. 3). F om his momen on, he di ec o mal in luences o e nacula cons uc ion will no be ecognisable in his wo k, 6 As s a ed abo e, he p elimina y p oposals o Seia and Guima ães we e p esen ed in June 1958 and Ap il 1959; in bo h cases, he p elimina y design es ablishes he ec onic op ions o he inal p ojec . Edua do Fe nandes, The ec onic shi in Fe nando Tá o a’s wo k in he Pos -CIAM yea s 128 al hough his a chi ec u e main ains he connec ion o he essence o Po uguese adi ional alues. To unde s and his second shi we mus conside some di e en bu in e ela ed ac o s. Fi s o all, he success o he Su eys. Since he mid- i ies, he e was a g owing end in Po uguese a chi ec u e, which s a ed immedia ely a e he beginning o he ield wo k o he Su eys and was subs an ially inc eased by he publica ion o he book A qui ec u a Popula em Po ugal (Ama al, 1961); his was a egionalis s yle, in which adi ional echniques and building ma e ials we e used (o en, bu no always, a icula ed wi h new ma e ials and mode n cons uc ion echniques), wi h he in en o seeking o mal e e ences in e nacula cul u e. Figu e 3. Res au an o he Saco uel s a ion in Seia; Saco uel s a ion in Guima ães. Pho os by he au ho . This egionalis end was inspi ed by he Su eys; howe e , in he no h o he coun y, i was also clea ly in luenced by he example o Tá o a’s wo k in Vila da Fei a, O í and Leça da Palmei a.