FAUP wins project to study Leça da Palmeira Swimming Pool

It is the first time that the North American Fundação Getty has distinguished a work located in Portugal within the scope of the prestigious ‘Keeping it Modern’ programme, which in 2020 will have its last edition. The project lasts for three years and is one of the lines of action of the UNESCO Chair “Heritage, Cities and Landscapes. Sustainable Management, Conservation, Planning and Design”, recently awarded to the University of Porto through FAUP.
The study will be developed by a multidisciplinary team in the fields of architecture and engineering, coordinated by Teresa Cunha Ferreira (FAUP) and composed of Rui Fernandes Póvoas (FAUP), Paulo B. Lourenço (University of Minho) and Ana Tostões (IST-University of Lisbon).
The project dedicated to the study of the Leça da Palmeira Swimming Pool has as its main objective the development of a management and conservation plan, based on the documentation of the history, construction and heritage values ​​of the building, on the implementation of digital tools for surveying, inspection and monitoring, on research on the diagnosis and repair of reinforced concrete, as well as the preparation of maintenance and use manuals with a view to their management and future preservation.
With this project, Leça da Palmeira Swimming Pool joins a group of 77 buildings built in the 20th century in 40 countries around the world distinguished under the “Keeping It Modern” programme of the Getty Foundation. Over the past six years, conservation and safeguarding projects have been selected for buildings such as Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House (Chicago, United States), Walter Gropius' Bauhaus building (Dessau, Germany), E-1027 Eileen Gray, (Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France), the Paimio Sanatorium by Alvar Aalto (Paimio, Finland), the Apartment and Studio by Le Corbusier (Paris, France), the MASP – Museum of Art of São Paulo by Lina Bo Bardi (São Paulo, Brazil) or the Eames House by Charles and Ray Eames (California, United States). In 2019, the project for the Beira Central Station, in Mozambique, coordinated by the University of Minho, was distinguished.

Tidal Pool

Built in the 1960s and inaugurated in 1966, the Leça da Palmeira Swimming Pool remains one of the most emblematic works of architect Álvaro Siza. Currently in the process of requalification, the structure is, under normal conditions, open to visits throughout the year through Casa da Arquitectura, being one of the buildings that integrates the Álvaro Siza Itinerary.
Located in Leça da Palmeira, it stands out for its harmonious integration into the coastal landscape. It includes two saltwater pools, changing rooms, changing rooms, and a support bar, open during the bathing season, between June and September.
In 2011, the work was classified as a National Monument and, in 2017, included in the indicative list of World Heritage by UNESCO. With a project by the architect Álvaro Siza, the Municipality of Matosinhos began in 2019 the process of requalification of the set, with the work still in progress.