Álvaro Siza
Álvaro Siza Vieira’s new project, commissioned by the Aveiro City Council, focusing on the improvement of the Cathedral Square(Adro da Sé) and the construction of a Memorial Monument to the Wall of Aveiro.
The work, representing a CMA investment of approximately one million euros, redesigned the entire area surrounding the Aveiro Cathedral, highlighting the Municipality’s history with the installation of a unique Monument on the site of a former town entrance.
Siza Vieira’s monument abstractly evokes the tower where the Porta do Sol, one of the entrances to the then-walled town of Aveiro –a symbol still relevant today due to its name– was located, and a place that currently provides access to the city’s central area.
Based on existing information about the Porta do Sol and the Wall, the project comprises three pieces, arranged to mark the outline of the old wall. The main piece, 10 meters high, is built in the roundabout next to the Aveiro Cathedral, while the remaining pieces, measuring 1.60 and 1.20 meters, are located respectively in the central gardens of Avenida Santa Joana, in front of the Aveiro Museum, and on Avenida 5 de Outubro, flanking the Cathedral and the Aveiro Museum / Santa Joana.
The project, integrated into the surrounding space composed of the Cathedral and its square, the Aveiro Museum / Santa Joana –both former convents–, the statue of Princess Saint Joanna, and the Avenidas Santa Joana and 25 de Abril, promotes a harmonious urban and historical connection to this area of the City.
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