A presente dissertação, procura expor a condição singular da relação território/paisagem, na realidade específica da Ilha da Madeira, território insular de Portugal. Reconhecendo a presença de uma relação expressiva entre o uso e uma poética e de como esta, estrutura a relação do Homem com o sítio, a narrativa deste estudo procura enquadrar culturalmente as respostas de adequação do território natural à ocupação humana, abordando para tal factos arquitetónicos regionais e internacionais. Este estudo surge com o objetivo de identificar e analisar vários modos de intervir/construir em orografias acentuadas, nomeadamente em escarpas. Assim, é com base na construção da paisagem humanizada da Ilha que esta investigação procura demonstrar que a memória é um instrumento projetual no entendimento da identidade edificada pela ação tectónica do Homem. É a partir do enquadramento dos elementos estruturantes, as veredas, as levadas, as casas rurais, as furnas, os miradouros e a agricultura, presentes na Ilha, que se revela as origens do património arquitetónico e cultural deste lugar.

The University of Beira Interior (UBI) is one of the most recent Portuguese universities (1986). First polytechnic and then university it is structured in five faculties. The existing knowledge fields include engineering, social sciences, humanities, arts and letters, communication and health sciences. The Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DECA) is part of the Faculty of Engineering. The main degrees in the DECA-UBI are the Integrated Master degrees in Architecture and in Civil Engineering. These are a five year program which combines undergraduate and postgraduate study into a single course. The interdisciplinarity and interrelation, which link both research and education, are the basis for the production of knowledge at DECA-UBI. Built heritage is a very important cultural asset as the evidence of any society development and it is a field of interest at DECA-UBI. It refers to all aspects of the man-made environment such as houses, places of worship, commercial and office buildings, monuments and other places of historical significance. Built heritage helps to define a sense of place and identity for communities. It is not only about monuments of exceptional value but also includes small modest vernacular buildings that represent other equally important historical, social and cultural values. The attention paid to the built heritage has increased in Portugal. It should be emphasized that some of these buildings are now used for functions that did not exist when they were built. Furthermore, the actual technical requirements are not always compatible with the former building. A regular maintenance of these buildings may include preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, reconstruction, adaptation and interpretation. Balance needs to be achieved. The future of built heritage conservation is focused on the sustainable built environment. Conservation does not require buildings to be preserved in their original condition to accept contemporary use. It may change over time as community values evolve. However it is important, as a cultural asset, to retain its original heritage features. While heritage conservation is a key player in sustainability planning, interdisciplinary skills that are needed to deliver the heritage studies and projects of the new generation architects which combine aspects of cultural heritage with the best preventive conservation, projects, methodologies and practices. For this purpose it is important to link with engineering sciences. In this paper, the authors describe their experience concerning this link between research and education in the Integrated Master degree in Architecture, which is emphasized by the specific and multidisciplinary research performed as members of the faculty staff at DECA-UBI linking with other sciences of engineering as thermal comfort, acoustics and daylighting. A few examples presented are the analysis of the performance of acoustics and daylight of Cistercians churches, the acoustic analysis as a support for the architectural rehabilitation of an outdated theatre, the thermal performance of new housing of an adapted monastery, to perceive the user’s satisfaction of a vernacular housing through a post occupancy inquiry, the rehabilitation from vernacular ruins.

This paper considers the importance of academic research projects regarding the integrated master’s degree in Architecture of the University of Beira Interior (UBI), Covilhã, Portugal. Evolution on architectural programs, due to the Bologna Process, oversaw the link between education and research in the young architect’s formation. At UBI, the future architect’s 10th semester (which is the final semester) comprises a dissertation which can be practical (a full design) or an academic research project (connecting theory and practice) as well as a full semester of Project design. A significative number of these final dissertations tackle academical research projects regarding the built heritage. These are interventions combining education and research, theory and practice, ideas, and designs. The Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture of UBI, its staff and students, have developed a concern regarding built heritage. Dissertation themes have focused on traditional aspects of Portuguese architecture and traditional building technologies. This paper brings to discussion a very specific case study. In fact, this reveals a new trend, and a new academic experience, achieved through the connection to the reality. The dissertation research design was being built while the dissertation was being carried out. The traditional Portuguese architecture of the so called "cubist" dwellings of Olhão in Algarve’s region (Portugal), and its traditional building technologies, are the core of the research which conducted to an architectural rehabilitation in Olhão. This kind of research project (linking education and reality) will endow young future architects’ specific skills. These skills are mainly about architectural rehabilitation, in connection with the History of Portuguese Architecture, Building Engineering Physics, traditional construction technologies, and local materials. This paper will tackle this research, focusing on objectives, methodologies, and results, which will be presented, and open to discussion, providing a debate on the results and experiences that outcome from the actual concretization through a real case of rehabilitation design of a “cubist” dwelling in Olhão.

A planificação urbana tem um impacto significativo na qualidade de vida das pessoas e no desenvolvimento das cidades. No entanto, muitas cidades em todo o mundo continuam a apresentar desafios como segregação espacial, áreas de acesso restrito e desigualdades na distribuição de infraestruturas e serviços urbanos, além de outros problemas que se originam através do mau planeamento destas mesmas cidades. Na presente dissertação, procura-se estabelecer a articulação entre a forma como o planeamento urbano influencia verdadeiramente o quotidiano da cidade e como promover o desenvolvimento de cidades inclusivas. O planeamento urbano influencia significativamente na vivência urbana, a eficiência deste mesmo planeamento pode melhorar significativamente a qualidade de vida de uma sociedade, reduzir a desigualdade e promover o desenvolvimento sustentável de uma cidade. Mais da metade da população mundial vive em áreas urbanas, e um planeamento inadequando pode gerar uma exclusão social, e um planeamento inclusivo para todos promove o bem-estar e acessibilidade igualitária. Esta pesquisa busca analisar conceitos como urbanismo, acessibilidade, sustentabilidade e estudos de sistemáticas que implementam políticas inovadoras para a inclusão urbana. A metodologia inclui revisão bibliográfica, análise de documentos, um estudo comparativo de estratégias de planeamento urbano em diversos contextos e um inquérito online contendo 23 questões de carácter aberto/fechado/misto, dirigido a cidadãos da cidade de Luanda, e constitui uma primeira abordagem a este caso de estudo, dada a escassez de dados disponíveis. Com isto, pretende-se que este trabalho possa contribuir para a concretização de critérios que possam auxiliar a arquitetura, o urbanismo e até os administradores públicos na “formulação” de cidades mais justas e acessíveis.

Europe faces huge challenges in next future in what concerns to the energy efficiency and the reduction of consumptions in buildings, the condition of housing stock and the needs of ageing people. However, due to the diversity of European countries, that reveals a variable geometry in their continental distribution, based on the economic and financial situation, urban and rural settlements, geographical features and very different cultural realities from country to country, the strategies to implement need to be different and adjusted to the reality of each geographic area. The architectural education must follow this logic of identity and be adjusted to regional reality instead of being equal across Europe. A young architect educated to design only new buildings, in schools supported by public investments in weaker economies, can be easily hired to work, sometimes with low salary, in stronger economies but he will not intervene to turn its community more strong, efficient and sustainable to the future, returning the investment made in his education. This communication intends at first to present information about the condition of existing buidings in south of Europa, especially in Portugal, in comparision with the average of European situation and also discuss the investments in new construction and renovation of existing buildings. The new challenges for the renovation of existing buildings require new skills and different strategies for the training of future actors in the design process. Knlowledge about statistical reality based on national/regional census and economic reports can drive the training and design needs. Knowkedge about the traditional construction techniques, the inspection and diagnosis methods for the existing situation, new thinking and design processes and interaction between different speacialities are some of the essential features to implement in architectural studies.

The Bologna Declaration introduced changes in the Portuguese universities which required a reorganization of Architectural programs in Architecture Schools. The University of Beira interior (UBI), in Covilhã, was one of these universities. The integrated Master’s degree in Architecture, at the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture of the University of Beira Interior (DECA-UBI), is a 5 year program which combines undergraduate and postgraduate study into a single course of 300 ECTS (European credit transfer system). In the DECA-UBI master’s degree in Architecture, the basis of architectural knowledge, are given not only by technical curricular units but also by history and theory curricular units intertwined with the Project curricular units. This degree, in 2015, had a curriculum design revision and consequently the allocation of more time to the teaching of History of Architecture and the need to assign specific syllabus to the Portuguese History of Architecture and City. Thus, it was required a redesign and enhancement of the General History of Architecture curricular units as well as didactic methodologies defined for the more theoretical curricular units in order to shed the motivation of learning-related stimulus of Project curricular units through the scientific work dedicated to their contents. It is intended to provide the student of base knowledge, in the context of the History of Portuguese Architecture, which will allow the insight and ability to understand the surrounding reality in their Project's activities. The new curricular units of History of Portuguese Architecture I and History of Portuguese Architecture II as well as across the disciplines of Theory of Architecture I, Theory of Architecture II and Theory of Architecture III will enable the student to pursue the review and analysis essential to architectural design. This paper is focused on the integrated Master’s degree in Architecture at DECA-UBI and brings to debate the redesign and enhancement of the History of Portuguese Architecture curricular units underlining the importance of an integrated teaching of General History of Architecture, History of Portuguese Architecture and Theory of Architecture as basis for architectural design thus Project curricular units.

O presente trabalho para a obtenção do grau de Mestre, pretende abordar a relação dos sentidos humanos com a Arquitetura, na medida em que esta é experienciada induzindo reações, sensações e emoções que tanto despertam os nossos sentidos como consciência. Sendo esta a base da investigação, começamos por procurar perceber a relação entre diferentes planos sensoriais, como podem pode evocar em nós diferentes sensações e emoções. Através da conexão do Corpo com o Espaço, o Corpo apresenta-se como um facto arquitetónico vivo, que deambula no espaço e absorve a intencionalidade presente na obra. O arquiteto viveu, pensou, desenhou e quis que se refletissem no espaço as suas influências e memórias. O Espaço projetado para o corpo apresenta cores, cheiros, sons e texturas que influenciam o modo como interagimos com o meio. Então, a reflexão a apresentar relaciona como os sentidos se fundem num espaço arquitetónico e como estes são vivenciados e percecionados pelo indivíduo que os usa. O estudo vai desenvolver-se em três momentos: no primeiro momento, o fundamento do discurso teórico com base em bibliografia selecionada, em se aborda o que são os Sentidos Humanos, o seu valor psicológico e como estes podem ser estimulados pelo arquiteto, aborda também de que modo se vive a Arquitetura e a dimensão sensorial da mesma, possibilitando a criação de uma matriz que elenque a presença dos sentidos espoletados pela obra, onde Racionalidade e Emoção são o enlace da mesma. O segundo momento, corresponde à análise de factos arquitetónicos, do arquiteto Álvaro Siva Vieira, do atelier Aires Mateus e do arquiteto Alvar Aalto como um processo de reflexão ao estudo teórico e num terceiro momento será apresentado o projeto laboratorial como o espelho do estudo desenvolvido, que numa transposição de escala que irá consistir num projeto de reabilitação de um vazio urbano decorrente de uma hesitação no espaço e no tempo em Mira de Aire, um lugar que em tempos foi um edifício com programa de Cineteatro e posteriormente Junta de Freguesia de Mira de Aire. Um projeto onde a sua maior intenção se resume a uma estratégia de Atmosfera Urbana, onde se formaliza uma intenção para a vivência e a experiência urbana na vila de Mira de Aire.

This study investigates the internal architecture of Asian hornet nests (AHNs) using advanced imaging techniques, such as CT scanning and X-ray radiography, to understand their construction and function. The primary objective and significance of this study centre on drawing inspiration from the creative way Asian hornets construct their nests, with a particular focus on the architecture, design, functionality, and building materials of these nests. The architectural principles governing the construction of these nests, such as the arrangement of hexagonal cells, pedicels for load bearing, and adhesive materials, serve as a source of inspiration for innovative and sustainable design practices. The pedicels in Asian hornet nests play a crucial role in transferring load and ensuring stability. Additionally, AHNs’ adhesion to tree branches is essential for preventing collapse, and the pedicels provide necessary structural support. The knowledge gained from studying AHNs’ internal architecture could be applied directly to the architecture and civil engineering fields to improve structure stability and durability. The microstructure analysis of the paper-like material that hornets produce to build their nests indicates a complex and heterogeneous structure, composed of various plant fragments and fibres. This unique composition creates intricate grooves and pores, which are essential for regulating temperature and humidity levels within the outer envelope of the nest. The study of Asian hornet nests’ internal structure demonstrated that nature’s engineering principles inspire the design of durable and resilient structures in the construction industry. Civil engineers can incorporate similar principles into their designs to enhance the structural integrity and performance of buildings, bridges, and other infrastructure.

The connections between architecture and music are a fascinating subject that has interested researchers since early times. Architectural thought seems to influence or in some way be implied in different musical activities. For example, architects have acoustic concerns when they create spaces for music performance. On the other hand, architectural notions and creativity are present in musical components like melody, harmony and rhythm. This essay is a reflexion on the mutual and close interaction between architecture and music. We present a brief perspective on notions related to this subject, which supports the first author’s ongoing activity as an architect of spaces for music. We also refer to the particular historic case of Iannis Xenakis, in whose work the connections between the two fields are evident.

This paper presents the conception, design and real miniature instrument implementation of a dual-purpose sensor for small satellites that can act as a star tracker and space debris detector. In the previous research work, the authors conceived, designed and implemented a breadboard consisting of a computer laptop, a camera interface and camera controller, an image sensor, an optics system, a temperature sensor and a temperature controller. It showed that the instrument was feasible. In this paper, a new real star tracker miniature instrument is designed, physically realized and tested. The implementation follows a New Space approach; it is made with Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) components with space heritage. The instrument’s development, implementation and testing are presented.