Jury Statement: The Golden Connection deals with stitching together a highly fragmented campus space in Porto. Besides connecting the spaces into a new functional whole, the team took the assignment further and introduced a notion of verticality of the landscape. The brass-textured skywalk, in playful relation with the space and trees, offers a new, vibrant dimension to the space and acts as an amenity. The project further excels in using a creative palette of materials and establishes its own formal language resulting in a series of inviting and useful ambiences.
The campus of the University of Porto – Portugal consists of three polos scattered across the city. The Campo Alegre polo receives thousands of students every day and is divided by high-traffic roads that causes mobility and safety issues for the academic community and local residents. The ongoing situation is the result of an urban development from the 1960’s that favorited the cars instead of prioritizing walking and cycling infrastructures.
As consequence of these physical barriers and isolated centers, there is very little connection of different faculty students which reduces the possibilities of exchange of knowledge within them. Currently, a project envisions a connection between the Botanical Garden and the University Stadium. Our proposal focuses on the relationship of the different faculty buildings and their green spaces in order to promote a positive impact on the social and ecological aspects of the city.
