O Lugar do Discurso

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O “Lugar” do Discurso

The Site of Discourse

Reference: PTDC/CPC-HAT/4894/2012

Funding Institution: FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia

Starting date: Junho 2013

Ending date: Junho 2015

Website: http://sitediscourse.org/

Description

The project The Site of Discourse intends to identify, analyze, debate and reflect on the editorial culture of the Portuguese architectural periodicals over the 20th century.

The title of the project — The Site of Discourse — has a number of different meanings. First and foremost, it invokes an idea that belongs to architecture itself. The title suggests that this project is about the discourse as well as about the “place” on which such discourse is produced — the architectural reviews and journals. It also invokes a complex grid of configurations about “who” produces, “what” contents involves, and “how” such “site” is constructed.

In fact, this project is grounded on the argument that specialized periodicals of architecture are more than a mere sequence of printed objects. As a totality they embody various discursive and crossed lines, which formed, over time, an editorial culture supported by a network of exchanges between the editors, critics, and architects.

By proposing a distinctive framework that expands the conventional treatments of this theme in Portuguese and international scientific context, this project will study how the editorial culture frames the architectural discourse with a critical reflection based on three focus of analysis: the formal and visual support; the agents and their social web; the discursive contents in its several dimensions — disciplinary, ideological, professional, esthetical, technical, theoretical.

INSTITUTIONS

Main Contractor
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas (FCSH/NOVA)

Participating Institutions
DINAMIA’CET/ISCTE – IUL

Main research unit
Instituto de História da Arte (IHA/FCSH/NOVA)

TEAM

Principal Researcher
Margarida Acciaiuoli de Brito (FCSH/NOVA)

Coordinators
Rute Figueiredo (ETH Zurich/ D-ARCH gta)
Paulo Tormenta Pinto (DINÂMIA’CET/ISCTE-IUL)

Researchers
Ana Vaz Milheiro (DINÂMIA’CET/ISCTE-IUL)
Andreia Martins Carvalho (King’s College London)
Inês Brasão (FCSH/NOVA)
João Almeida e Silva (FAUP)
José Bártolo (ESAD)
Margarida Brito Alves (IHA/FCSH/NOVA)
Paulo Tormenta Pinto (DINÂMIA’CET/ISCTE-IUL)
Pedro Castelo (London Consortium)
Rute Figueiredo (ETH Zurich/ D-ARCH gta)
Vítor Alves (FAUP)

Consultants
António Pizza (Polytechnic University of Catalonia)
Jorge Figueira (DARQ/ FCTUC)
Hugo Segawa (FAU-Universidade se São Paulo)
Manuel Graça Dias (FAUP)

Research Fellows
Catarina Diz de Almeida
Daniela V. de Freitas Simões

Relatório de resultados | Results report

A – Relatório Final APROVADO

Os objectivos científicos previstos foram plenamente atingidos. Os resultados evidenciam grande qualidade científica, nomeadamente ao nível das publicações em revistas internacionais com referee. O projecto contribuiu para a formação de jovens investigadores e para a projecção internacional da equipa envolvida.

Within this project, thousands of articles and other texts published in the portuguese architectural periodical press of the 20th century were collected and analyzed in a systematic survey. This fruitful work, conducted in close association with the national College of Architects, is about the relationship between architecture itself and its critical perception, as expressed in specialized published reviews, that become both a source of knowledge and a powerful instrument to shape taste and influence the course of architecture itself. It produced a database, as a result of the thorough analysis of 27 magazines, 3 books, 29 papers, 20 international communications, 10 sessions of debates in 2 cycles (Cover/Themes and Agents). As a highlight of this multidisciplinary work, an international conference took place, under the same name of the project, held in Lisbon in September 2015. This study will become an important milestone and unavoidable reference for the study of portuguese modern architectural culture. A PhD. thesis was initially presented as an expected indicator but it was not realised. No mention or justification of this unfulfillment was provided in the final report.

Outputs:

	Synthesis of scientific production Image Survey
	28-30 de September 2015 – The Site of Discourse. Thinking architecture through publication. International Conference – Banco de Portugal – Money Museum; Lisbon Cityhall (CML) – Archive Room; MUDE – Museu do Design e da Moda Learn more http://sitediscourse.org/events/the-site-of-discours e
	November 2015 – Colloquium ‘Notícias de Arquitectura #1’ – ESAP/CEAA org. Helena Maia, Rute Figueiredo
	“The housing problem in the architecture periodical press: manifest, critic and divulgation [Panel session] International Conference ‘Optimistic Suburbia’. May 2015, Lisbon: ISCTE /IUL Rute Figueiredo; Margarida B. Alves (org.) http://optimisticsuburbia.wix.com/portuguese#!sessoespt/c3rv
	Publication: O Lugar do Discurso. Temas e Agentes nas Revistas de Arquitectura. Porto, Dafne Editora, IHA FCSH/UNL, Dinâmia’CET/ISCTE. ISBN 978-989-8217-36-3 [in press]
	Publication: The Site of Discourse. Thinking Architecture through publication: Conference Proceedings. Lisbon, IHA-FCSH/UNL; Dinâmia’CET-ISCTE/IUL [forthcoming 2016]
	Publication: Dossier Temático – Revistas de Arquitectura. N. 2, Ordem dos Arquitectos-SRS; IHA/FCSH-UNL; Dinâmia’CET/ISCTE-IUL.
	Publication: Book of Abstracts – 28-30 de Setembro 2015 – The Site of Discourse. Thinking architecture through publication. International Conference
	Exhibition: Thinking Architecture Through Publication 26 Sep. – 10 Oct. 2015, Museu do Dinheiro – Banco de Portugal, Lisbon Pedro Castelo; Vitor Alves; João Almeida e Silva; Rute Figueiredo (cur.) Paulo Tormenta Pinto (architecture) Sérgio Correia (design) With the kind support of: Centro Cultural de Belém Museu do Dinheiro – Banco de Portugal Ordem dos Arquitectos Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia
	Exhibition: Arquitectura Revista 26 Feb. – 10 Apr. 2015, Galeria Quadra, Matosinhos/Porto José Bártolo; Vitor Alves (cur.) With the partnership of: ESAD-Escola Superior Arte e Design /CMMatosinhos http://sitediscourse.org/arquitectura-revista/
	Exhibition: O 25 de Abril nas revistas de arquitectura 17 – 30 May. 2014, Átrio Edifício ISCTE, Lisbon Paulo Tormenta; Ana Vaz Milheiro (cur.)
	Cycle ‘Cover/Themes’ / Cycle ‘Agents’ 2014 – 2015 In partnership with Ordem dos Arquitectos/ Portuguese College of Architects, Lisbon It was proposed the creation of opening moments for debate and critical reflection, structuring two cycles of sessions: Cover/Themes; and Agents. In the cycle COVER/THEMES, it was defined a set of 6 sessions around relevant themes published in the covers of the architectural magazines during the period in analysis. In the Cycle AGENTS the team organized 4 sessions, in which the idea of “agency” was taken as a starting point in the construction of the edited “discourse”. http://sitediscourse.org/debates/
	The site of discourse — Is it architecture? Architecture Lisbon Triennial “Close/ Closer”/Associated Project 12^th Dec. 2013, Ler Devagar, Lisbon Taking the central challenge suggested by the 2013’s edition of the Lisbon Architecture Triennial, the Site of Discourse contributed to this large-scale debate as an associated project. This was the first public presentation of the project, in which the team members and some advisors promoted a discussion on the editorial culture of Portuguese architectural periodical press taken the following questions as starting points: To what extent could the “site” of discourse be regarded as an architectural “site”? Are the architectural “site” limits redrawn, fixed or transgressed by the “site” of the discourse?
	Website of project The Site of Discourse