Intervention in Forte do Guincho. Sea heritage – Conservation and architecture project

Abstract

Forte do Guincho is situated on a promontory in a protected landscape. It was built in the 17th century and was part of an extensive line of defensive forts on the Cascais coast which protected the entrance to the Barra do Tejo. The particular nature of the location and the heritage value of Forte do Guincho were fundamental factors used in designing the architectural solution. Conservation and preservation are underlying concepts of the proposal. The pre-established use and programme intended to qualify the monument implied the need for a new construction, linked to the already existing structures but tectonically separated, thus potentially reversible, from the fort. The decision to plaster the walls of the fort or leave them unplastered was one of the most sensitive issues during the development of the project, since it would influence the integration of the fort in the landscape and its conservation. The aim of the (yet unbuilt) project was to achieve, through an integrated transdisciplinary project, a unity of form and materials between the pre-existing structures and the contemporary additions, thus giving renewed life to the monument while preserving its authenticity.