The Valley Sections in Caldas do Moledo: The metamorphosis of Place and Time in the architectural landscapes of the Douro.

Abstract

Caldas do Moledo, known as the entrance gate to the heart of the Douro thanks to its strategic position on the right bank of the river, has always been of great importance in the economic, cultural and social exchange.  However new dynamics emerge in the region, and places once a feature in the landscape are now suspended in time in expectant decay of a new life. The construction of a revaluation strategy for the case study seeks to understand the possibilities of recovering a place full of character that holds potentialities within the contemporary dynamics. It will be presented a vision which does not identify with the superficial images of the touristic Douro, seeking, instead, to value its Genius Loci. The multidimensional potentialities of the section are explored as a research method and simultaneously as an observation tool, interpretation process and intervention strategy. The central argument seeks to understand how, little over a century, from the Patrick Geddes’ Valley Section to Peter Hall’s cross-sections, till the construction of an oblique look between André Corboz’s palimpsestal layers and Stefano Boeri’s eclectic observations – looking at Aloïs Riegl in the rearview mirror – the transformations of the territory itself demand other tools of understanding and strategies in the transformations of realities. It is essential to understand to carefully preserve and transform the material and immate­rial heritage of the Douro Region, focused here in Caldas do Moledo, as much as it is imperative to reconstruct a discourse that joins tradition and progress, truly representative of a ‘Cultural, Evolving and Living Landscape ‘.