ArchiTourAlgarve - Architecture Walking Tour Olhão: Monuments, Modernism & More

Architecture Olhão: Monuments, Modernism & More

Architecture Walking Tour Olhão: Monuments, Modernism & More

Monuments:

There are, in the municipality of Olhão, monuments and places that, due to their historical importance and unique architecture, stand out, due to the role they played in the construction of its past. Knowing them is knowing Olhão.

Modernism:

The modernism in Olhão - we are talking about the period from 1925 to 1965 - distinguishes itself from modernism in the Algarve by the influence in the history of the "cubist city”. This "cubist style" of white flat roofed houses with its little buildings on top can in Portugal only be found in Olhão.

You find them in the oldest neighborhoods Baretta and Levante, but also in the later neighborhood of Mundo Novo. The most important factors, that for a large part distinguishes the “Modernism of Olhão”, are the "cubist building tradition”, a highly expanding fish-canning industry since the end of the 19th century and the waves of returning emigrants from "the New World" with modern visions on contemporary constructions.

The well-known architects from the modernist tradition have only a limited presence in Olhão, but had a huge influence on local engineers and builders that can be noticed in its local building production. Well-known architects can be found as the designers of the low-cost housing projects such as Bairro de Pescadores, Bairro Economico and Horta da Cavalinha. At a number of residential buildings on the beginning of Horta da Cavalinha we also find some names of well-known architects. The anonymous or engineer-related "modernist building" can be found in various larger and smaller residential buildings along for example the Avenida de Republica or along other major access roads to the city.

Which architects belong to the pioneers of Modern Building in the Algarve? Architect Manuel Gomes da Costa was one of the three young architects from the Algarve who became affected with modernism at the University of Porto and introduced it to the Algarve. The architect Carlos Chambers Ramos - who was married to a woman from Olhão - was his professor at the University of Porto. It was also Carlos Ramos that designed Bairro Operário on the Rua Martins Garrocho (demolished) for his brother-in-law's canning company Lucas & Ventura in Olhão.

Manuel Gomes da Costa had a practice in Faro and was the most important and influential of the three young architects with around 400 projects during his professional career. The other two architects were Manuel Laginha, from Loulé and António Vicente de Castro from Portimão. Especially with Manuel Gomes da Costa, the admiration for the works and theories of LeCorbusier are noticeable, certainly in his study projects and initial works. In Olhao, a residential house and a storehouse belong to the projects of architect Manuel Gomes da Costa. The "Centro de Assistentie Social Polivalente" in Olhão is one of the brilliant projects from architect Manuel Laginha in a type of projects he also made for other cities in the Algarve and that he designed together with architect Rogerio Martins.

Text and photos partly taken from the Exhibition “O Modernismo em Olhão” from 06/12/2019 - 07-02-2020 at the Re-Creativa República in collaboration with ANAFA ASSOCIAÇÃO FOTOGRAFOS DO ALGARVE - TAVIRA
Curators: Isabel Macieira / Will Köhlen

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& More:

This are the other buildings, not Monument or Modernist

Other Tours from ArchiTourAlgarve on the PocketSights App:

* Olhão - Cubist Architecture Walking Tour

* Faro - Pires & Brito Architecture Walking Tour

* Faro - Architectural walking Tour Ilha / Praia de Faro

* Tavira - Modernist & More Architecture Walking Tour

* Fuseta - Architecture Walking Tour

* Vila Real de Santo António (VRSA) - Modernist & More Architecture Walking Tour

* Loulé - Modernist & More Architecture Walking Tour

* Huelva (Spain) - Architecture Walking Tour