In the contemporary Portuguese city, the square is an urban legacy with a European matrix, whose asset value is crucial as part of the urban history, but also its experience and collective memory. This matrix was subsequently exported to non-European countries, becoming indispensable in the colonial city. Over the past twenty years, urban policies of safeguarding and preserving historical centers resulted in three types of actions for remodeling squares: interventions under the responsibility of technical services of municipalities; interventions resulting from public tenders, led by architects; interventions under order direct, usually coordinated by architects renowned nationally and internationally. In this context, there are two fundamental design methodologies: one more conservationist and one more open to a contemporary reinterpretation of models, drawings and building systems resulting from a local urban culture. The choice of one of these approaches is often set by the time in which it is performed and is strongly related to the theoretical production and letters and recommendations of existing international bodies, as well as a practice associated with an intervention in architecture, governed by globalizing influences. This paper proposes the analysis of the Portuguese context, having as a point of arrival, a dual purpose: to provide an analysis of urban intervention in the consolidated city, identifying key inflections which prompted it; lay the groundwork for a research project within the Portuguese-speaking communities, identifying possible similarities and dissimilarities, leading to the study of a hypothesis of contemporary urban lusophilia within this theme.
Square; Contemporary architecture; Heritage; Public space