A temática abordada neste artigo é a resiliência de uma comunidade rural, situada no interior de Portugal continental. O objectivo foi retratar a resiliência desta comunidade e elaborarem-se análises posteriores para percepção dos pontos positivos e negativos apresentados. Actualmente a resiliência de uma comunidade é bastante discutida, mas não foram encontrados em Portugal, estudos que quantificassem ou permitissem percepcionar a real resiliência de uma comunidade rural. Para se conseguir este objectivo, foram feitas pesquisas bibliográficas que ajudaram a compreender esta questão e foram elaborados inquéritos, com base no método utilizado, para se conseguir delinear a questão. O principal resultado foi a confirmação do que se intuía na prática, o que veio a confirmar-se à posteriori: que a freguesia em estudo tem uma resiliência inata, mas que esta corre o risco de desaparecer devido ao problema da desertificação.
New developments in software projects for the construction sector are a technological revolution and provide new methods of infrastructure design and modeling, highlighting the Building Information Modeling (BIM). BIM is a technology and methodology used in the most developed countries and little by little this technology is being implemented in other countries where its use is increasing. This new work methodology makes it easier to manage and plan new projects, saving time and minimizing costs. The advantages of using BIM stand out in large projects thanks to the better handling of large volumes of information. This article will address, with the example of using BIM technology, the design project of a fictitious university sports pavilion located in Seville (Spain). Using the BIM Edificius® software, the 3D modeling of this building will be carried out in order to calculate and design the building’s facilities with CYPECAD MEP® software, making use of the IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) format to exchange the building design between both programs.
Most of the work on resilience of urban infrastructures focuses on their technical performance and reliability in disaster situations. In general, when we link urban infrastructure and Civil Engineering, we think of technology, engineering, constructions and technical or control buildings. In a state of pandemic like the current one, the study of the relationship between urban infrastructures and resilience is a phenomenon scarcely studied in the literature. The main objectives of the article are to analyse, from a Civil Engineering and actors’ perspective, the role and behaviour of urban infrastructures for the maintenance of the wellbeing of the community in a pandemic situation, and to fill a gap in the existing bibliography. The authors argue that the human factor is the most important element for infrastructure to be resilient in a Covid-19 situation. To achieve the objectives, a review of the literature was carried out considering the works published in the last 10 years. Then, a reflection is made about the influence of the resilience in infrastructures during a pandemic situation considering the relevant sustainability factors. As practical implications of this article, the drawn conclusions are expected to represent value for the societies of the future.
The research made for this purpose was realized to study the connection between the way of life, the climate, the geology and the vernacular architecture in the parish of Cernache do Bonjardim, municipality of Sertã, central region of Portugal, where various styles of rural houses can be found. The traditional rural home of this territory is constituted by stone walls, mostly made of shales or granite and has two floors: a lower floor with a place for animals or food storage, and an upper floor with the kitchen/living-room and bedrooms. Usually, both floors are joined by outside stairs. Each available space, for instance under these stairs, is used to keep animals like swine or hens, goats or rabbits, and to store food. Usually there is a piece of ground around the house used for the plantation of vegetables and fruit trees. This kind of home is adapted to the people’s way of living and the climate, using local materials like stone or wood. In the 19th century there was an emigration wave to Brazil. When the people returned they wanted to show their acquired richness and (sometimes) culture to the neighbours in the village and constructed large houses of mansion-type, which didn’t show the strong adaption to the environment anymore, but had other functionalities and a better comfort. As the transportation means improved, the building material was no more limited to the local offer. The emigration from the sixties of the 20th century until today brought new kinds of buildings. Their style was influenced from the country of emigration. There is no more relation to the local style of building. For the construction, modern materials like concrete, tile walls and roof tiles are used. The major conclusions of the research are that the vernacular architecture of the studied region has changed from houses adapted to the climate and the rural way of life, to larger and no more “typical” buildings. The main reasons for this change are the return of emigrants from abroad and its influence, the availability of new materials, the better education and income of the people, the wish to life more comfortably, and the change of the people´s way of life from farming to employment.
L'objecte d'estudi d'aquest treball és la feligresia de Cernache do Bonjardim, situada en el centre de Portugal i segons els límits territorials definits fins a 2013. La motivació per a la realització d'aquest article es deu al fet que els resultats dels censos de 2021 estan començant a sortir i és possible construir relacions entre aquestes dades i la resiliència de la comunitat d'aquesta feligresia. Partint del concepte de resiliència de les comunitats rurals, i a través de l'anàlisi de les dades estadístiques, es pretén comprendre com influeix la variació de població i allotjament en els diferents paràmetres de la resiliència comunitària. La novetat d'aquest treball és l'objecte d'estudi i l'actualitat de les dades obtingudes. Les dades de partida són els proporcionats per les institucions nacionals per als últims tres censos. Com va haver-hi canvis administratius i la comunitat va sofrir impactes en l'última dècada, va haver-hi la necessitat de treballar les dades per a poder-se analitzar la feligresia estudiada presa aïlladament. Aquest treball mostra que les tendències han continuat durant les últimes dues dècades, la qual cosa ha exacerbat el problema de la desertificació i l'envelliment de la població. Per tant, els problemes que afecten la resiliència d'aquesta comunitat també s'han mantingut. Com era d'esperar, la comunitat de la feligresia estudiada va demostrar ser resilient, malgrat tots els contratemps i impactes que va sofrir, com ho demostren els diversos treballs que s'han desenvolupat sobre aquest tema i sobre aquesta comunitat. The object of study here is the parish of Cernache do Bonjardim in central Portugal and in accordance with the territorial boundaries in effect until 2013. The motivation for producing this article is that the results of the 2021 census are due for publication and may enable the building of relationships between these data and the resilience of the community in this parish. Based on the resilience of rural communities’ concept, and through analysis of statistical data, we aim to understand how the variations in population and accommodation influence the different parameters of community resilience. The relevance of this work derives from its object of study and the actuality of the data. The starting data are those provided by the national institutions for the last three censuses. As there were administrative changes and impacts on the community in the last decade, there was the need to process the data to be able to analyse the studied parish in isolation. The findings demonstrate how the negative trends have continued over the last two decades, exacerbating the problems of desertification and population ageing. Therefore, the problems affecting the resilience of this community have also remained the same. As expected, the community of the parish studied proved to be resilient, despite all the setbacks and impacts suffered, as reflected in the various works developed both on this topic and on this community. El objeto de estudio de este trabajo es la feligresía de Cernache do Bonjardim, ubicada en el centro de Portugal y según los límites territoriales definidos hasta 2013. La motivación para la realización de este artículo se debe a que los resultados de los censos de 2021 están comenzando a salir y es posible construir relaciones entre estos datos y la resiliencia de la comunidad de esta feligresía. Partiendo del concepto de resiliencia de las comunidades rurales, y a través del análisis de los datos estadísticos, se pretende comprender cómo influye la variación de población y alojamiento en los diferentes parámetros de la resiliencia comunitaria. La novedad de este trabajo es el objeto de estudio y la actualidad de los datos obtenidos. Los datos de partida son los proporcionados por las instituciones nacionales para los últimos tres censos. Como hubo cambios administrativos y la comunidad sufrió impactos en la última década, hubo la necesidad de trabajar los datos para poderse analizar la feligresía estudiada tomada aisladamente. Este trabajo muestra que las tendencias han continuado durante las últimas dos décadas, lo que ha exacerbado el problema de la desertificación y el envejecimiento de la población. Por lo tanto, los problemas que afectan la resiliencia de esta comunidad también se han mantenido. Como era de esperar, la comunidad de la feligresía estudiada demostró ser resiliente, a pesar de todos los contratiempos e impactos que sufrió, como lo demuestran los diversos trabajos que se han desarrollado sobre este tema y sobre esta comunidad.
Architectonic heritage buildings attract millions of tourists for many reasons: their beauty, history, style, art, location, and so on. Presently, this list is being supplemented by the touristic exploration of the construction material, with particular emphasis on the natural stones. This material is the aim of urban geotourism because it can give precious information about its age, origin, paleo-environment, as well as its provenience, way of exploitation, transport, treatment and finally degradation by weathering, among others. Therefore, the study of the construction stones of heritage buildings constitutes a complement to the “classical” cultural items which are shown and presented during a visit. A particular segment in geotouristic activities may be the presentation of building problems to the visitors. There are many examples in this field, like moisture or cracks in the walls, unusual solutions in construction, disintegration of stones, and so on. These problems can have various causes: the capillary rise of groundwater in a wall, the lack of construction material, the heterogeneous composition of the substrate, the seismic activity, the weathering of material, to name but a few. For a visitor interested in science and technology, the knowledge of the problems, their origin and their solution (or, at least, the attempt of their solution) may be an unforgettable experience. The purpose of the work is to open a new point of view to architectonic heritage and its building problems, which can be used and explained in touristic activities. For this, mainly qualitative non-interventionist and participatory methodologies are applied. As a result, there will be the situation that the damage in one part leads to a profit in the other. This ambiguity may be resolved by considering that better knowledge about the state of the heritage building, which is made accessible to a larger public, will contribute to its preservation. So, the main conclusion is that geotourism applied to architectonic heritage and its problems is an important support to its maintenance because of the dissemination of the knowledge of what may happen with the construction material. Likewise, the knowledge acquired during a geotouristic visit may help to avoid similar problems in other buildings.
Drystone walls can be frequently observed along the Algarve, south region of Portugal, performing both support and property division. This region is also known by its geological diversity and, consequently, lithology, which are intimately related to the orography. The combination of all these factors allowed the proliferation of this traditional drystone walls during the last centuries, and they represent not only an important element of the landscape, but also a perspective of the social, economic and technical bases of Algarve’s heritage. This article intends to present this diversity and the relationship between its various facets. In order to achieve the objectives, several field surveys were carried out to different geological zones, with the intention of gathering information related to the natural material used and its construction technique, as well as interaction with local inhabitants. These visits were supported by bibliographic and “Web-graphic” research, to substantiate the hypotheses. Based on the data results it is possible to identify a close interconnection between the geology and wall structure typology, since they are made with the natural rock fragments (raw material) found nearby. However, its function is more related to the orogeny and lithology, the latter defining also the type of agricultural culture. The study is enriched by the enormous diversity of rock types, although the Algarve is a relatively small region. The main limitations found during the development of the study are related to the physical access to the walls and the interviews with the locals. These constrictions were due to the lack of land maintenance, allowing vegetation to growth naturally, invading and covering the walls, and also due to the pandemic situation brought by the COVID-19 virus, which interdict the interaction between persons and also the travels. Despite the restrictions mentioned, the fieldtrips gave enough data to support the correlation between the geology, lithology and the raw material used on the drystone walls, as well as their relation to the terraces that proliferate in specific areas of Algarve. In view of the scarcity of bibliographic elements associated with this subject, in the studied territory, the elaboration of documents that allow the identification, characterization, geo-location and dissemination of the object of study, is considered as an asset for this theme. Finally, the study aims to alert and counter the tendency to abandon this type of heritage, valuing it and making it known.
Abstract. This paper aims to enhance the functions of terraces and drystone walls as structural elements and distinctive factors of the traditional rural zone known as the barrocal of the Algarve, south of Portugal. In fact, such elements define the character of the landscape that forms the background of a traditional touristic region along the coast. The core of this paper will be the knowledge of construction processes, spatial distribution, and hydrological, ecological, economic and social functions, once it is quite necessary for the Algarve region. Some projects and studies have been developed in the Mediterranean context, but there is not enough research on this subject in the south of Portugal. Secondly, the social meaning, or acknowledgement of the landscape characterized by drystone wall structures, will be the key for finding real possibilities of renewing the terraces. Therefore, the landscape will be assumed as a common good. In this subject, we take into account the potential role and sensibility of tourists and resident population. Beyond static patrimonial statutes, we can design some practical possibilities to enhance plastic features and new uses leading to an acknowledgement of the Algarvian drystone wall structure, referred as a part of Mediterranean coastal landscapes. Some examples that can add cultural and touristic value could be: recreation areas for urbanites, new cooperative forms of agriculture, hobby farming, workshops about harvesting traditional products, circuits and pedestrian paths, and interchange with similar Mediterranean regions defining broader circuits.
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