Architecture, Landscape and Archaeology
Erasmus Joint Master 2022
Design Studio Tutoring
Tutors: Pedro Martins Carvalho, Luisa Bebiano
Students:
Kali Kapsali, Sukejna Jeriagic, Marios Stylianides, Aisyah Arung Qalam, Yilan Zeng, Nudrat Nawaz
The general topic of the ALA Design Studio of 2023 revolves around the concepts of boundaries, connections and entrances into walled archaeological sites. Such sites have been staples of the Portuguese built heritage and have been under constant interventions since the first half of the twentieth century but are nevertheless still disconnected from their general social, cultural and territorial vicinities today.
The main objectives of this edition concern the rehabilitation of the interior spaces and the reconnection of the Numão Castle, with its surrounding territory. The Numão Castle is a medieval castle, a national monument since 1910, located in the district of Guarda, in the municipality of Vila Nova de Foz Côa, sitting on a territory with traces of occupation since the neolithic, through the roman and medieval ages.
One of the main focuses of the work is the wall, which serves not only as a continuous physical boundary, but also as a connecting link between its other main feature, the set of six imposing towers that sit along the walls, establishing different relations with it, either contiguous or outside, presenting certainly interesting vantage points over the site, as well as the surrounding landscape with possible visual links to several other nearby castles, such as Asiães, Castelo Rodrigo, Castelo Melhor, Ranhados, and Penedono.
The walls are interrupted with four doors, another main topic of this design studio, establishing evident and less evident points of entrance to the site or possible avenues for addressing the issue of reconnecting the castle with the village of Numão and the general landscape that envelops it.
In addition to the doors and towers, the ruins of the church and cemetery within the walls are also interesting to consider in the scope of the design studio.
The archaeological site of the Numão Castle presents opportunities to experiment with design strategies that can establish new relationships with the territory and its natural and built landscape as well as more focused interventions regarding issues of accessibility, usability, infrastructure and rehabilitation of the interior of the site itself.