Bom Sucesso Neighbourhood

Paulo Providência
Centro de Estudos Sociais da Universidade de Coimbra

S eci icati ns Technical in rmati n

Location: Rua Gonçalo Sampaio, Massarelos, Porto, Portugal
GPS: 41°09’13.4”N 8°37’55.6”W
Authors: Luís Moura Coutinho Almeida D’Eça
Commission / Design period (s): 1956-57
Construction: 1958
Completion/inauguration: 1958
Classification (Heitage Protection): None
A ORIGINAL PROJECT

ack r und
The m Sucess nei h urh d is an e -
am le the h usin r rammes that
started in rt in and as ne the
lar est s cial h usin r ects uilt in r-
tu al The num ers s eak r themselves
e un in and c m leted in ,
a artments ere uilt as art this r -
ramme, h usin the t tal ula-
ti n rt at that time The irst h usin
l cks ere inau urated s n a ter the
start the r ramme in The r -
ramme as devel ed y the munici al
technical de artment, and desi ned y
u s Almeida d Eça , an architect h
trained at rt eau Arts Sch l in the
s and h had revi us e erience in
desi nin nei h urh ds s cial h us- Fig. 01 General plan of Housing Improvements, 1956. CMP.
in
The main ur se the r ramme surr unded y reen s ace and ree r m neighbourhoods were located more toward the
as t d a ay ith the verly dense ty e ur an r lems as a ri rity r the outskirts of Porto, others were located clos-
city centre h usin kn n in rt as munici ality Fi er to the city centre, either because a plot of
The distribution of the new neighbourhoods land was already available or because a major
ilhas islands , enerally c nsistin very
which replaced the old and unhealthy ilhas infrastructure project was under way, releasing
l n , narr alleys c ntainin tiny, sin le land for building (Fig. 2). The neighbourhood
amily d ellin s A c nsidera le num er was made according to the availability of land
within the confines of the Porto ring road (the of Bom Sucesso is an excellent example of the
rt citizens lived in these ilhas in very latter, as the plot designated for its construction
Circunvalação), which demarcates the city
unhy ienic and unhealthy c nditi ns, and became free as the result of the enlargement of
limits. Although the majority of these new
s re lacin them ith ne uildin s Rua Campo Alegre and the creation of the new
 listic architectural ty l ies that ere y ermitted the uildin the desired
im lemented in the ne ly created nei h- , a artments ver a year eri d
urh ds came a ut as a result that The irst nei h urh d, the airr d
ressure lans r these c nstructi n r - m Sucess hich as c nstructed and
ects, includin all the desi n and en ineer- inau urated in , c nsisted a art-
in lans, tender d cuments and technical ments divided ver l cks, ith all the
s eci icati ns, ere carried ut ithin eri- a artments ein the same ty l y
ds si m nths, ith c ntracts r c n- the l cks that el n t this c m le
structi n a arded immediately a ter that are l cated n the est side ua nçal
Over a ten year eri d, the r cedure as Sam ai , ith the ther n the eastern
the same every year rk uld e carried side the r ad The l cks c nsist
ut n the lans r the irst si m nths, l rs, ith an interi r staircase and
ith the remainin si m nths dedicated t deck access alc nies Fi
su rtin the c ntract r This meth d l - The lay ut the three edr m a art-
ments have a central s ace hich c nsist-

Fig. 02 Construction of the Bom Sucesso Neighbourhood /

CMP Lu s Moura Coutinho Almeida d’Eça, CMP Archive

urban access routes required for the Arrábida

Bridge, construction of which began in 1957
and finished in 1963.

The seri us h usin r lem that re-

mained unres lved des ite a year r -
ramme c nstructi n s cial h usin
as uttin reat ressure n the system
and re uired ur ent res luti n The sim- Fig. 03 Façade of a Typical Housing Block / CMP Lu s Moura Coutinho Almeida d’Eça, CMP Archive
ed a livin r m that inc r rated a in ardr e The a artments ere als nies The remainin alls ere uilt ut
small kitchen The a artments have an in- e ui ed ith sanitary acilities a t ilet, a h ll rick the e teri r alls in sin le
teri r r m hei ht m, and interi r ash asin, a tu r ashin cl thes and a layer cm rick, the dividin alls e-
areas m The entrance t the sh er As there as n s ace r a rivate t een a artments in cm rick, and the
a artments is thr u h the m livin laundry area, a lar e c mmunal ash- interi r artiti n alls in cm rick These
r m, ith st ra e areas c nsistin nly h use as uilt in the ack area the alls ere rendered ith laster and
t symmetrical ardr es that en int h usin scheme, et een r s h usin ainted The r s are traditi nal c n-
the livin r m and serve the m ed- l cks The ne residents sim ly needed structi n, ith a a le and t itches,
r ms Access r m the utside t the main t rin their eds t e in livin in these and r tiles ver a den structure
s ace is direct, and the ec n my in the dis- ne and im r ved h uses
tri uti n ives a schematic l k t the ar- The structure the uildin as ased Use the deck access alc ny
chitectural ty l y Fi The a art- n a rein rced c ncrete rtic ith a T years a ter the inau urati n the
ments, all hich have the same num er s atial m dulati n meters The irst l cks, a re rt si ned y un rtas
r ms and lay uts, ere each e ui ed l r sla s ere als in c ncrete, as ere and art l meu C sta Ca ral
ith an electric ven, h t ater and a uilt the staircases and the deck access alc - u lished in the urnal Ar uitectura
hich as run y rtas himsel , criti-
cized n t nly the a sence rt Sch l
architects r m such an im rtant endeav-
ur mainly T v ra and Siza , ut als the
small size the a artments and the a -
sence rivacy in the livin r m a
s ace that had ind s acin the u lic
deck access alc ny either as the
deck access alc ny c nceived as an in e-
t een s ace, ne that uld all r tran-
siti n r m the u lic s ace t the rivate
h me, ut as a c ld and sim listic element
distri uti n hich r u ht s me r -
lems ith it, as it ermitted the a artments
Fig. 04 Plan of a Typical Housing Block / CMP -Lu s Moura Coutinho Almeida d’Eça, CMP Archive
l cated at the ends the alc nies t a -
r riate the s ace
The article as r usely illustrated ith
h t ra hs sh in several as ects the
nei h urh d, such as the children s lay-
r und and the surr undin ardens and
s me ima es the c nstructi n r cess,
Fig. 05 Photograph of the Carvalhido Neighbourhood, with enclosed deck-access balcony
and included ima es r m the rmer ilhas,
c m arin the ne ha itat ith the scan-
dal us rmer livin c nditi ns e eri-
enced y the rkin classes rt One
t ic earned the ri ht t e illustrated y
means ur ima es the deck access al-
c ny, ith ne ima e sh in the r cess
Architect Paulo Providência
a r riati n the alc ny y means
the c nstructi n a ate and ence t hin-
der n rmal circulati n, hile yet an ther
sh ed the deck access alc ny ccu ied
y a rack r dryin laundry
Mean hile, and des ite the r cesses
reha ilitati n that ere takin lace n
u lic h usin , the deck access alc nies
ecame s aces un reseen everyday
use, and there re a t ic increasin
c n lict ith the assa e time O erin a
s ace r arkin icycles, a c mmunal
ash area, a lace r utd r meals, and a
small arden and st ra e s ace, the alc -
nies re resented a lace r utd r unc-
ti ns that as very much desired y the
residents These uncti ns r u ht ith
them the use access ries such as ta les,
reenh uses, dryin racks, st ra e cu -
ards, etc
Encl sin the deck access alc nies
S me h usin l cks r m the r -
ramme have recently een re ur ished t
im r ve their level thermal c m rt and
t make the a artments m re sustainable
in terms ener y use rk t cl se
the deck access alc nies e an in the ear-
ly st Century Fi
 The irst r ects t e im lemented
ere sim ly meant t encl se the deck ac-
cess alc nies and create a main entrance
d r t the uildin s The railin s n the
alc nies ere there re encl sed ith
mas nry, and aluminium ind s ere
used t c m letely encl se the alc nies
This device av ured direct a r riati n
the deck access alc nies, hich led the
inha itants t intr duce d rs dividin
each se ment the alc nies Several
r lems then emer ed First, the deck ac-
cess alc nies c uld n l n er uncti n as
emer ency e its ecause in rder t reach
sa ety, residents livin in the end a art-
ments uld n have t en ur d rs
t reach the utside their n a artment
d r, the irst d r in the deck access al-
c ny, the sec nd d r in the deck access
alc ny, and inally the main entrance d r
t the uildin An ther r lem detected
as that encl sin the deck access alc -
nies created a reenh use e ect, leadin t
the need r shadin y the use interi r
linds, cl sin the alc nies r m the
e teri r Finally, encl sin the deck access
alc nies y use aluminium and lass
ind s drastically reduced the circula-
ti n air in the interi r s aces and reatly
increased interi r c ndensati n in the
main livin areas, raisin the interi r m is-
ture level and causin disc m rt, there y
c ntri utin t an unhealthy ind r h us-
in envir nment
A sec nd strate y as then tried, c nsist-
in nly artially encl sin the alc nies
The s aces in r nt the stairs ere ke t
en, ith nly the s aces in r nt the
a artments ein encl sed The desi n
the ind s als included an u er art
that all ed ventilati n the alc ny, r at
least this as the intenti n This s luti n
as im lemented ith ut any urther
chan es t the alc nies, and the l r t
ceilin lass d rs that ere itted em d-
ied a very sim le desi n easy e ecuti n,
as they c uld e set in ehind the alc ny
railin s This s luti n h ever decreased
the idth the alc ny, addin t the r -
lem the lack a ree and unhindered
s ace r use as an emer ency e it n addi-
ti n, s me the r lems that ere art
the revi us s luti n ersisted the reen-
h use e ect, r instance, as still elt, and
s a s ecial e teri r shadin element as
created An ther r lem as that the ven-
tilati n as ine ective ecause n air as
enterin via the l er level the ind
Finally, the ractice a r riati n the
s ace c ntinued, decreasin the uality
the deck access alc nies and their e ec-
tiveness as emer ency e its
The deck access alc nies still re resent
the reatest challen e t re ur ishment
residents have str n ly adv cated r in-
creasin the areas their res ective a art-
ments y inc r ratin the deck access al-
c nies, and ren vati ns ill rin technical
r lems as any chan es t the deck access
alc nies ill revent cr ss ventilati n,
hinder ire esca es and emer ency e its,
and essentially rivatize an area c mm n
s ace
C REUSE PROJECT
A ne r ramme r the deck access
alc nies
Si ty years a ter its c m leti n the current
s cial situati n the irst h usin nei h-
urh d, uilt as art the
im r vement lan r the m Sucess
nei h urh d, as assessed in a study
carried ut y s ci l ist r es ereira in
and , and u lished in The
study aimed t dra a s cial rtrait the
nei h urh d, and indeed sh ed that
there is a si ni icant am unt re udice
made in litical statements a ut s cial
h usin nei h urh ds and their resi-
dents n act the eneralizati ns made
a ut the educati nal levels, main activities,
and amily make u the residents ere
e treme, ith the reality sh in itsel t
e much m re diverse, even hen takin
int c nsiderati n the e ects s cial vul-
nera ility The survey als clearly sh ed a
eneral tendency t ards an a ein resi-
dent ulati n, ith ut any si ni icant re-
ne al re lectin the m re eneral issue
a ein ithin the rtu uese active la ur
rce The residents eneral sense c m-
mitment t their nei h urh d, al n
ith their erce ti n el n in t s me-
thin that they value, ere act rs hi hli ht-
ed y the ini ns the ers ns inter-
vie ed One the characteristics m st
valued y the residents as the l cati n
the nei h urh d, as it is cl se t the
avista unda ut, ne the main ne
ur an centres the city On the ther
hand, the size the a artments and the
deck access alc nies ere as ects hich
ere m st keenly criticized in the survey
An ther survey, c nducted y h stu-
dent ana estiv in and u lished in
her study rt u lic h usin interven-
in t re uali y , c m ares several inter-
venti ns that t k lace n rt u lic
h usin uildin s, e aminin hat she de-
ines as the ren vati n u lic h usin
meanin th reha ilitati n the uildin
as ell as the alterati n its architectural
ty l y The study she carried ut is very
much c ncerned ith increasin the size
the a artments in relati nshi t their ty-
l y She there re studied ays c n-
vertin a three edr m a artment int a
t r even ne edr m d ellin , hile
at same time ein c ncerned ith the ac-
cessi ility the a artments, iven that the
residents and amilies are ec min lder
and may have m ility issues As r the
c mm n access and distri uti n s aces,
she is very critical the s luti n und t
encl se the deck access alc nies, ut d es
n t er any indicati n h t res lve
the r lems that led t the need r their
encl sure hich is n t nly the tiny inte-
ri r areas the a artments, ut als the
uninterru ted access r m the alc nies
int the main livin area the a artments
Assessin use the deck access alc nies
nstead i n rin the real use deck ac-
cess alc nies, and the s ntane us
chan es made t them y the residents, a
ne r ramme interventi n ased n
em irical servati n may all a diverse
a r ach t the re ur ishment the h us-
in l cks
Thr u h surveyin the chan es made t
the alc nies e may disc ver the real
r lems that lie ehind the s ntane us
desi ns, there y av idin di icult en ui-
ries n act, ch ice the meth d l y
this survey as dictated y the decisi n t
ase im lementati n m di icati ns t
the uildin s n hat the residents have in
act c nstructed rather than ased n hat
they say they ant
A survey th se h usin l cks that
have n t yet een re ur ished may reveal
that it uld e est t use the deck access
alc nies as everyday s aces, all in r
dryin racks, utd r eatin , the arkin
icycles, havin l ers r lants, and st r-
a e s ace, as ell as access t the a art-
ments F cusin n the use the deck ac-
cess alc nies as a r ramme r
re ur ishin the h usin l cks, e have
re lected n the redesi n this am i u us,
in et een m dernist s ace, e aminin
h t revent the technical r lems
raised y the s ntane us chan es t the
uildin s made y the residents and als
nh t all the alc nies t retain the
uni ue character, identity and atm s here m re ermanent, ere classi ied acc rdin r m inter inds and als as a ay creat-
hich they have taken n ver time t their ur se use in e teri r st ra e s ace c c nstructi n
The survey n the use deck access al- The survey all ed t identi y a series a reenh use as a ay r tectin the ri-
c nies as c nducted y means a system- issues a d rs uilt int the alc ny due t vacy the livin r m and as an e ansi n
atic r cess h t ra hic l in The security related r lems, r t ther ise that r m d encin in an e teri r s ace
chan es made t the alc nies, s me c ntr l access t the deck t create a ind at r und level t e and and rivatize that
hich are e hemeral in nature and thers shelter, as a ay r tectin the alc ny s ace e ther rms a r riati n the
deck access alc ny are th se that r vide
r tecti n r m the sun, such as sunshades
and a nin s, als the sus ensi n rivate
dryin racks in the ceilin the alc ny t
av id havin t make use u lic nes, and
the installati n ta les n the e teri r al-
c ny s ace t ena le utside eatin Fi
The açades the di erent uildin s
ere then ma ed, r vidin a eneral
vervie the trans rmati ns Fi
The ll in num ers ere rec rded
num er und t tal ssi le num er
rs ut St ra e ut

Fig. 07 Survey of changes classified according to the typology

Fig. 06 Photographs of spontaneous interventions at the Bom Sucesso Neighbourhood Architect Paulo Providência of the action Architect Paulo Providência
 reenh use ut ati
ut ryin rack ut A -
nin ut Sunshade and ta le
several unc unted
y means the survey and ma in e
have c nstructed a s luti n that deals ith
all the ma r c ncerns re ardin sa ety
access and accessi ility t the a artments
and revents the ma rity r lems
caused y e cessive heatin r duced y
reenh uses and the res ective lack
cr ss ventilati n, hile still res ndin t
the needs e ressed y the trans rma-
ti ns that ere seen
The encl sures n the deck access alc -
nies, i c nstructed r m steel and clad in
thin steel net, uld all the idth the
alc nies t e increased, there y all in
the installati n dryin racks arallel t
the decks, r vidin artial shieldin r m
the inter inds and rains and creatin a
rm rivacy r the s aces The steel net
uld als all ermanent cr ss ventila-
ti n the main livin r m Fi

m r vin Thermal c m rt
The Ener y e iciency the uildin s is
currently ein im r ved in line ith m d-
ern re uirements Alterati ns are ein
made, such as Fig. 08 Project for the Refurbishment of the Bom Sucesso Neighbourhood section of the deck-access balcony Architect Paulo Providên-
cia
 A licati n c ntinu us thermal insula-
ti n t the e teri r all
A licati n thermal insulati n t the
r t s, t all the c ncrete arts and t
the lind es
e lacement the ind s, ith chan -
es t the manner enin and the ty e
lass, in rder t im r ve thermal c m rt
Fittin s lar anels t the c mm n ar-
eas the uildin s
nsulati n the a artments under the
r t s is articularly im rtant in rder
t av id c ndensati n caused y verheat-
in in the kitchens

The r und l r a artments, and c ntact

ith the u lic s ace
The a artments n the r und l r ere
ermitted t have an utside s ace, r -
vidin direct access t the street This ati
revents assers y r m l kin in, reat-
ly im r vin the level rivacy a rded
The r und l r a artments are m st
suited t the elderly, as there are n stairs
inv lved in accessin their h mes
C ncludin remarks
The r lem re ur ishment the
deck access alc nies is ne that has n t
yet een res lved The City C uncil, t in-
Fig. 09 Project for the Refurbishment of the Bom Sucesso Neighbourhood rendered image of a deck-access balcony/
deck-access balconies Architect Paulo Providência
crease the thermal c m rt and ener y e -
iciency the h usin l cks as ell as t
lease the residents h have encl sed
the deck access alc nies seemin ly at
rand m is carryin ut interventi ns
aimed at increasin the ener y e iciency
the uildin s, achievin reater c ntr l
the c mm n s ace y means the in-
stallati n a main entrance d r, and y
encl sin the deck access alc nies
This r ect is a startin int in the
r cess interventi n, assessin and sur-
veyin the trans rmati ns made t the
h usin l cks and creatin a lan t re-
s nd t th se trans rmati ns t main-
tains that it is ssi le t increase r tec-
 ti n r m the climate n the habitação social na transformação da cidade. Sobre a
deck access alc nies r m ind génese e efeitos do “Plano de Melhoramentos para a
and rain in inter, and r m the sun in
the heat summer hile at the
same time all in r cr ss ventila-
ti n livin and ther r ms t als
a ears that it is ssi le t re ur ish
the deck access alc nies s that they
can e used r dryin cl thes ith ut
creatin stacles t the emer ency
e its The desi n s luti n, n t yet een
im lemented, r ses increasin the
idth the deck access alc nies y
means the c nstructi n a r tec-
tive mechanism that st s the rain
r m enterin and creates s ace r
dryin racks, at the same time as im-
r vin the rivacy the a artments
Fi ,

Fig. 10 Project for the Refurbishment of the Bom Sucesso Neighbourhood ren-
dered image of the exterior of the housing blocks Architect Paulo Providência
Bibliography / Sources
BORGES PEREIRA, Virgílio, (org.) A habitação social
na transformação da cidade. Sobre a génese e efeitos do
“Plano de Melhoramentos para a Cidade do Porto” de
1956 2016.
BORGES PEREIRA, Virgílio, “Posicionamentos sociais,
estilos de vida e representações dos residentes num
bairro do ‘Plano de Melhoramentos’: o caso do Bairro do
Bom Sucesso cinco de décadas depois da construção”, A