A study of the design and construction of buildings in the Pombaline quarter of Lisbon

摘要

In the year 1755, the lower part of the city of Lisbon was hit by a severeearthquake. Immediately following the earthquake a complex reconstructionprocess began, which introduced new urban, architectural and constructionalconcepts. This resulted in the creation of new innovative rentable buildingstermed the Pombaline rentable buildings, after the Marquis of Pombal whodirected their construction.This thesis comprises a wide ranging and detailed study of these buildings.At the beginning of this work, in Chapter I, "The Pombaline rentable building"is placed in its historical context. The origins of the old city are described and itshistorical development within Portugal. The results and consequences of the 1755earthquake are outlined, and the subsequent process of reconstruction isdescribed. All immediate measures, decrees, and proposals for the reconstructionof the city, plus Manuel da Maia's Dissertations, are carefully compared andanalysed, as are the various plans proposed for the reconstruction.The preceding periods of Portuguese Architecture are studied to identifypossible origins for the architecture of the Pombaline rentable buildings. Also aclear definition of the Pombaline Rentable building and the limits of the genuinePombaline area are established.In Chapter II the general methodology used in the research is described, whichincludes a survey of 315 buildings and a documentary search for materialrelating to the construction of the buildings.In Chapter III an analysis is made of the general external and internalarchitectural characteristics of the rentable buildings. An extensive search fororiginal drawings, produced drawings only of the elevations of the main streets.These are carefully analysed and compared with existing buildings and aclassification system is developed. A complete survey by the author of thebuildings' interiors, for which no documentary information exists, reveals agreat complexity and variety of interior plans. To achieve a systematicclassification of the interiors particular aspects are analysed including, the typesof stairs, the organization of the interior spaces, the building location and thefinishing details.Chapter IV describes some of the technical innovations shown by the rentablebuildings, particularly those referring to earthquake resistance in constructionand to prefabrication. During the survey of plans and elevations the Authoridentifies evidence for the existence of prefabrication, in terms of sizes ofcomponents, tolerances and detailing. This evidence is supported indirectly bydocumentary material although the extent of documentation is very limited.viiPossible evidence for an evolutionary development in the internal plan anddesign of the buildings based upon the position of stairs in the buildings ispresented in Chapter V. An attempt is made to relate this classification to the datesof construction of the different buildings. This is achieved by an analysis ofprevious tax records which enable numbers of buildings constructed on differentstreets at different periods to be determined. Based on this analysis the evidencefor an evolutionary development is discussed.In Chapter VI the Pombaline rentable buildings of Lisbon are compared withother contemporary developments at Porto Cövo, Vila Real and Manique doIntendente in order to assess the influence of the Pombaline development, both interms of the architecture and the construction processes, on other constructionprojects outside Lisbon.Chapter VII discusses the principal findings of the research and theirimportance in the context of Portuguese architecture.