Urban Intervention
October 2022
DESTRINCO is a temporary activation project for abandoned or inaccessible urban areas, aimed at integrating them into the city's network of paths and flows, taking advantage of their specific characteristics and turning them into spaces for public use.
In this first edition, which took place during the last two weeks of October 2022, DESTRINCO opened the Alameda of the old Monte Pedral Barracks in Porto to the public, establishing an unexpected (and useful) shortcut between two opposite streets. Over nine days it revived this dormant citadel, promoting the use of its deserted streets by pedestrians and cyclists from the neighborhood. The former Military Alameda became a new public space in an area of Porto lacking squares and gardens.
DESTRINCO arises from the desire to create meeting places that promote connections among local residents and invite outdoor social activities, by unlocking the gates of rusted doors. The project began with a series of questions: Where is the nearest public space? How long does it take to get there? Why do we see so few people walking in these streets? What changes if we open the gates? These questions led to a systematic study of the surrounding urban life and an analysis of public space. The survey will be conducted before and during DESTRINCO, based on observations and data collection - counts, street surveys - carried out with the support of 5th-year students from the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Porto.
DESTRINCO seeks a change of perspective, facilitating the appropriation of the city by its citizens, with more open spaces for leisure and social interaction, serving as a tool that enables an inclusive and effective approach with citizens and local communities.
Monte Pedral has been an immense impenetrable castle in the center of Porto for over a century. Today, it is a place in transition - between years of abandonment and its definitive destiny. Therefore, this is the ideal moment to open the old Barracks, with its quiet tree-lined streets and elegant but functionless buildings, to the residents of the surrounding neighborhood and the city.
DESTRINCO was Co-organized by Oitoo, with Rute Nieto Ferreira, Veronica Martinez, Ana Carvalhosa, and Nuno Guedes
Design: Thiago Liberdade
Technical Support: Francisco Guedes de Oliveira
Support: Porto City Council / Agora