Guimarães and the medium valley of the Ave river: a town and its territory as observed through the analysis and the designs of the students of the local school of architecture

Vincenzo Riso

Guimarães, known as the birthplace of Portugal, lies in the centre of the River Ave Valley which forms part of a system of smaller valleys and rivers adjoined to the main waterway. Within this territory, which was historically characterized by agricultural use, a unique industrial tradition developed in relation to the great number of textile factories built along the waterways. Through this development, a deep integration between industry, agriculture and housing communities took place. The spontaneous economic growth of the last decades led to an unplanned expansion of this built environment resulting in urban and rural fragments within the central River Ave Valley. The problems related to this unplanned growth have inevitably been considered by the local school of architecture’s urban studies units. The article describes the didactic experiences and strategies aimed at developing a culture of description through representation as a lack of figurative values is acknowledged as one of the main problems of this urban sprawl condition.