The tectonic shift in Fernando Távora’s work in the Post-CIAM years

THE TECTONIC SHIFT IN FERNANDO TÁVORA’S WORK IN THE POSTCIAM YEARS. Eduardo Fernandes LAB2PT, Escola de Arquitetura da Universidade do Minho / LAB2PT, School of Architecture of the University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal. Abstract Between 1955 and 1960 the Portuguese architect Fernando Távora (1923-2005) designed an important group of buildings: the municipal market of Vila da Feira, the house in Ofír, the tennis pavilion of Quinta da Conceição in Leça da Palmeira and the primary school of Cedro in Gaia. These buildings are landmarks in the history of Portuguese architecture; in their design, Távora employed traditional materials (stone, timber, tile) and reused vernacular construction techniques (bearing walls, wooden beams and pitched roofs) within a modern approach. This attitude is directly related to the results of the Surveys on Portuguese Vernacular Architecture, promoted by the Union of the Portuguese Architects between 1955 and 1960 and conducted by some of the most renowned Portuguese architects; Fernando Távora was responsible for the work in ‘Zone 1’ and learned how to recognize the presence of a certain kind of ‘modernity’ in the Vernacular Architecture of the north of the country. However, after 1960 his language changed and the direct influence of the vernacular began to be less obvious. In order to understand the evolution of his work at this time, it is important to remember that Távora was present at the main international architectural meetings, where he had the opportunity to contact the key names of the worldwide architectural community: he integrated the Portuguese representations present in the last CIAM Congresses and also participated in the Royaumont meeting of the Team Ten. Besides, in 1960 Távora made a three-month journey to the United States and participated in the World Design Conference in Japan. These international contacts and experiences were important to the rethinking of concepts that led to the different languages we can find in the buildings he designed after 1960. Keywords: Távora, CIAM, Team Ten, Vernacular, Modern. REVISITING POST-CIAM GENERATION: debates, proposals and intellectual framework Proceedings. Porto, April 11-13, 2019 121 Introdution In the 40s, Portugal lived in a context dominated by the conservative vision of the dictatorial regime of Salazar, in which the State imposed on the architects a set of guidelines inspired by alleged national values. After the end of World War II, the new generations of architects trained under the influence of Carlos Ramos and Keil do Amaral began to challenge this reality, defending the use of a modern language. This reaction against the conservative view of the State reached its highest point in the Congress of Portuguese Architects of 1948, dominated by the opposition between those who defended an archaic idea of Portuguese values and those who proposed an architecture directly influenced by the different expressions of the modern movement. In this context of a confrontation between two antagonistic positions, Fernando Távora (1923-2005) proposed a third way, which marked the Portuguese architecture in the post-Ciam years. However, when we analyse the evolution of Távora’s work, it is evident the existence of three quite distinct phases. The first, between the publication of the text ‘The Problem of the Portuguese house’ (‘O Problema da Casa Portuguesa’, 1945) and the beginning of the design process of the municipal market of Vila da Feira (1954), is a period marked by an important theoretical production, but also by the difficulty of concretizing in practice the ideas presented in his texts. In fact, before 1954 we cannot recognize in his work the ideas presented in the cited text (Távora, 1945) and in the set of written reflections published in Cadernos de Arquitectura (Távora, 1947),1 in the newspaper Comércio do Porto (1953) and in the magazines Panorama (1952a), Lusíada (1952b) and A Arquitectura Portuguesa, Cerâmica e Edificação (1953). 1 The 1947 publication of The Problem of the Portuguese House in Cadernos de Arquitectura is similar in the global sense, but presents some differences of wording, rephrasing the text of the same name published two years earlier in the magazine Àleo; it is this second version (improved by its author) that is usually quoted by those who study the theoretical production of Távora. Eduardo Fernandes, The tectonic shift in Fernando Távora’s work in the Post-CIAM years 122 The projects Távora started in 1952 (the block of Avenida do Brasil, the Ramalde economic housing complex and the Grocery Wholesalers residential unit, all built in the city of Porto) are respectable works of a young modern architect, but they do not yet show an idea of ‘modernity’ manifested ‘in the quality and accuracy of the relations between the building and the life that surrounds it" (Távora, 1952b). In other words, it was an architecture design according to its time (modern), but not according to the cultural conditions of its place (Portuguese). This idea of a new Portuguese Architecture only appeared in the work of Távora in a second phase, in the projects began after 1954, mainly in the Municipal Market of Vila da Feira (1954-59), the Ofír House (1957-58), the Tennis Pavilion of Quinta da Conceição (1956-59) and the Cedro Elementary School (1957-61). This second phase of Tavora's work occurred in parallel with the work process of the Surveys on Portuguese Vernacular Architecture (1955-60), a large program promoted by the Union of the Portuguese Architects and conducted by some of the most renowned architects from Porto and Lisbon. These Surveys allowed the reinterpretation of the traditional tectonic systems of Portuguese vernacular constructions in the light of modern principles of rationality, functionalism and truthful use of materials. In the book Arquitectura Popular em Portugal (Vernacular Architecture in Portugal) published in 1961 as a direct result of the research carried out between 1955 and 1960, the report of ‘Zone 1’2 (coordinated by Távora) confirms some of the ideas already written in the abovementioned text ‘The Problem of the Portuguese house’: ‘Man and Earth’ are the two fundamental elements that condition vernacular architecture, which is realized ‘within the Portuguese truth’, and the ancient rural house is ‘the truest, most functional and less fanciful’ (Távora, 1945). 2 The ‘Zone 1’ of the Surveys on Portuguese Vernacular Architecture covered the geographic areas of Minho, Douro Litoral and Beira Litoral; Távora was the coordinator of a team which also included Rui Pimentel and António Menéres. REVISITING POST-CIAM GENERATION: debates, proposals and intellectual framework Proceedings. Porto, April 11-13, 2019 123 So, in this second phase of Távora’s work there was a very clear tectonic shift, which was visibly influenced by the vernacular tectonics studied in the Surveys, which were reinterpreted with a modern design. However, after a brief period of time his language changed again; Távora sensed that the formal influence of vernacular architecture symbolized an attempt to crystallize a reality that was, in fact, rapidly disappearing and could not translate the contemporary times. So, from this moment on, we can talk of a third phase in Távora’s work, in which the influence of vernacular tectonics is not evident. The discovery of a third way During the years of the Survey, in the abovementioned second phase of his work, Távora finally managed to achieve the practical realisation of the ideas previously presented in his texts. His intentions are clearly synthetized in the words he wrote about the holiday house of Ofír, which can also characterize all the other buildings he designed in this period. One of the most elementary notions of chemistry teaches us the difference between a compound and a mixture; such a notion seems to us to be perfectly applicable, in essence, to the particular case of a building. In fact there are buildings that are compounds and buildings that are mixtures (...) and in the present case of this dwelling (…) we tried to build a true compound, a compound in which an infinite number of factors, of varying value, came into play. (Távora, 1957, p. 11) In fact, the work designed in this second phase shows that Távora finally understood how to combine his particular interpretation of the modern movement and his unconditional love for Portuguese vernacular construction, in a compound of foreign influences and local character he managed to apply in Vila da Feira, Gaia, Ofír and Leça da Palmeira, almost at the same time. Eduardo Fernandes, The tectonic shift in Fernando Távora’s work in the Post-CIAM years 124 However, in order to understand this important evolution of his work at this time, it is essential to remember that Távora integrated the Portuguese representations present in the last CIAM3 meetings (Hoddesdon, Aix-en-Provence and Dubrovnik), where he had the opportunity to contact with the key names of the worldwide architectural milieu and witnessed the confrontation between the young future members of the Team Ten and the older (and more orthodox) members of CIAM. In some architects of the new generation, he recognized a theoretical position that was close to his ideas. Thus, in these CIAM meetings he could confirm the pertinence of the ‘third way’ he defended, as an alternative to the harsh nationalism of the State and the strict internationalism of most of his colleagues. Figure 1. Project for the Tennis Pavilion of Quinta da Conceição. Távora, 1957. Archives of Marques da Silva Foundation (FIMS/FT/0036-pd008). 3 The CIAM (Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne) were the most important forum of architectural debate in the first half of the twentieth century; between 1928 and 1956, ten meetings were held in eight different countries. REVISITING POST-CIAM GENERATION: debates, proposals and intellectual framework Proceedings. Porto, April 11-13, 2019 125 The reinterpretation of traditional values in modern architecture was a theme very present in the Japanese architecture of the time, namely in the work of Kenzo Tange. Távora met him in 1951, in Hoddesdon, where he presented his drawings of the Hiroshima Peace Center and Memorial Park; they shared the same principles and became friends, as Távora refers when he remembers (in his diary) their reunion in Tokyo, in the World Design Conference of 1960 (Távora, 1960a, p. 305).4 The particular approach of Tange’s first works was very similar to the ideas Távora was trying to implement in his own architecture. Thus, the resemblances between Távora’s tennis pavilion in Leça da Palmeira (fig. 1) and the house Tange designed for himself in Tokio (1951-53) are not surprising: both works are an intentional compound of modern design and traditional values. Therefore, the ideas and the work of Tange (and of other CIAM participants) were very influential in the new character his architecture showed, in this second phase. Távora finally discovered how to relate the formal and conceptual influences from architects of the modern movement (Corbusier in Vila da Feira, Kenzo Tange in the abovementioned tennis pavilion of Quinta da Conceição, Marcel Breuer in the house of Ofír, Alvar Aalto in the school of Cedro) with his knowledge of the vernacular heritage, reinforced by the lessons he was learning in the Surveys. However, the study of the work of foreign architects and the intentional use of their principles and forms, adapted to the Portuguese reality and cultural values, was a philosophy already expressed in the aforementioned first text of Távora. A new character of new conditions arises and it is there that the Portuguese Architecture must be connected without fear of losing its character. If we have individuality today, the study of foreign architecture will not cause us any evil; if we do not have it, then it will be useless to have the pretension to speak about Portuguese Architecture. (Távora, 1945) Therefore, this philosophy (expressed in writing ten years before) became a methodology of design in this second phase and gave rise to the works mentioned 4 Távora and Tange were also present at the 1959 meeting of Team X, in Otterlo. Eduardo Fernandes, The tectonic shift in Fernando Távora’s work in the Post-CIAM years 126 above, milestones in the history of Portuguese architecture of the twentieth century. However, after 1960 the architecture of Távora changed again. From Seia to Guimarães, from Chicago to Taliesen We can establish the beginning of Fernando Távora's third phase as a consequence of a second language shift, between 1958 and 1959. In that period, he designed two fuel stations in the north of Portugal, for the same client (the Sacor fuel company) and with the same type of location, a national road on the outskirts of two medium-sized cities, Guimarães and Seia. There seems to be no reason that can justify any substantial differences in their design; yet, the tectonic options of Távora were quite distinct (Fernandes, 2016). The project for the Sacor fuel station in Seia was initiated in 1958; the preliminary proposal presented to the clients in June of the same year establishes the solution that will be presented in the project, with minor changes, in December 1959. However, 8 months before the delivery of the Seia project, Távora had already submitted to Sacor the preliminary proposal for the petrol station of Guimarães (in April 1959), commissioned the previous year; as the first proposal for Seia, this preliminary proposal for Guimarães presented great resemblance with the final project (September 1960).5 Like in his abovementioned work in Vila da Feira, Leça da Palmeira and Ofír, Távora achieves in Seia (fig. 2) a perfect combination of local materials and traditional 5 In the archives of Marques da Silva Foundation (where Fernando Távora’s legacy is kept) we can find all the interactions with the Sacor company documented. The first commission was a study for the location of petrol stations in the city of Porto and its environs; the proposal was submitted in November 1957. The project for the fuel station in Seia was designed between 1958 and 1959, with the collaboration of Alberto Neves and Augusto Amaral; some additions were designed between 1961 and 1965 (unbuilt). In June 1959 Távora designed a prototype project for the Sacor petrol stations, with the collaboration of Vasco Cunha, and presented the first studies for the Gaia station; a second study for Gaia was presented in July 1960. Between 1959 and 1961 Távora designed the petrol station of Guimarães (with the collaboration of Augusto Amaral), commissioned in the previous year. There were some small adjustments designed in 1963 and 1965, and the reformulation and enlargement of the building, proposing a Restaurant, was designed with the collaboration of Joaquim Sampaio and presented in 1966 (unbuilt). REVISITING POST-CIAM GENERATION: debates, proposals and intellectual framework Proceedings. Porto, April 11-13, 2019 127 construction techniques (using stone bearing walls, timber beans and tiles) with modern ones (big glass windows and reinforced concrete slabs) which, according to the ‘spirit that presided to the design’, intended a ‘good integration in the environment’ (Távora, 1960b, p. 3). However, although it was designed few months after,6 the Guimarães Fuel Station presented different tectonic options. Although it is still possible to recognize the influence of the Vernacular Architecture of the north of the country, it is materialized in a less obvious way: the bearing walls in granite stone are combined with flat roofs in reinforced concrete and metal pillars, as the concern for showing the possibilities of contemporary techniques replaced the direct references to traditional construction. Figure 2. Project for the office, store and restaurant of the Sacor fuel station in Seia; Távora, December 1959. Archives of Marques da Silva Foundation (FIMS_FT_0101-pd0018.02). This was the beginning of a second tectonic shift in Távora’s work, which is clearly embodied by the difference between the sloped roof in tiles of Seia and the flat slab in reinforced concrete of Guimarães (fig. 3). From this moment on, the direct formal influences of vernacular construction will not be recognisable in his work, 6 As stated above, the preliminary proposals for Seia and Guimarães were presented in June 1958 and April 1959; in both cases, the preliminary design establishes the tectonic options of the final project. Eduardo Fernandes, The tectonic shift in Fernando Távora’s work in the Post-CIAM years 128 although his architecture maintains the connection to the essence of Portuguese traditional values. To understand this second shift we must consider some different but interrelated factors. First of all, the success of the Surveys. Since the mid-fifties, there was a growing trend in Portuguese architecture, which started immediately after the beginning of the field work of the Surveys and was substantially increased by the publication of the book Arquitectura Popular em Portugal (Amaral, 1961); this was a regionalist style, in which traditional techniques and building materials were used (often, but not always, articulated with new materials and modern construction techniques), with the intent of seeking formal references in vernacular culture. Figure 3. Restaurant of the Sacor fuel station in Seia; Sacor fuel station in Guimarães. Photos by the author. This regionalist trend was inspired by the Surveys; however, in the north of the country, it was also clearly influenced by the example of Távora’s work in Vila da Feira, Ofír and Leça da Palmeira.