Rebuilding a Social House Fabric as a Social Reconstruction

Abstract

The problem of the rural exodus and consequent desertification has, over the past few years, taken an increasing importance in the context of the major issues that currently concern the scientific community and society in general. The decrease of population in the countryside, has led to the abandonment of places that previously fermented life. This, in turn, has led to the disappearance of an essential part of the constitutive memory of the Portuguese identity. To worsen this situation, the 2017 disasters caused by climate changes were extremely impactful within the scope of the Portuguese architectural heritage. More than five hundred fires were triggered in the centre and north of the country, which led to the destruction of more than five hundred houses, resulting in the death of more than a hundred people. After this calamity, the Lisbon School of Architecture promptly started to be involved in a broad reconstruction programme. Those architectural interventions proved to be a challenge due the socio-environmental and economically unfavourable context. The process was mitigated by the School’s several research programs, oriented toward rebuilding and re-inhabiting.