Free Unit Contract

The contract between myself, Robert and Celine atLMU, and my professional friends, has been completed and is in the process of being signed by all parties. The contract establishes what I want to achieve in my year at the free unit.

A sample from the contract, describing the site of Fontainhas, is included below.

“Fontainhas is on the steep riverfront just east of the centre of Porto. It is separated from the river by a modern carriageway and a very steep series of cliff edges.

“The name, which translates as ‘Little Fountains’ is derived from the many natural springs which can be seen in the area. Pavements and pathways are frequently damp due to the coursing of the water. Fountains were formalised here in the 18th Century and the area became a pleasure ground for the affluent residents of two neighbouring areas.

“The area of Fontainhas is still administratively split in two, one piece for each of these two neighbouring areas. Its identity as a whole is compromised by this split, indeed no recent major investment is in evidence or has been highlighted by our research.

“The pleasure grounds made way in the later 19th Century to some heavy industry, including the manufacturing of ceramics, the built infrastructure of which is still evident. This was accompanied by some wider infrastructure which has also fallen out of use- a railway serving the original port, via a tunnel to the tourist centre of Porto which still exists, and a railway bridge designed by the office of Gustave Eiffel. In today’s Fontainhas, lush and rocky nature intermingles with faded industrial structures.

“In 2001, a significant landfall occurred. Many homes were destroyed or abandoned. Many residents were moved, by their own demand, to new high-rise developments in the suburbs of Porto, though many others remained. The map of this area, as provided by the Porto authorities, shows the area as uninhabited but no effort has been made to improve conditions there.

“To the people of Porto, the area is most known for a very famous secondhand market held there every week on a plateau above the mainline railway, and also as the starting and focal point of the Sao Joao parties, the most significant festival in the city. The festival has pagan origins as a celebration of seasonal change. Fontainhas therefore looms large in the mythology and social life of Porto, but this is denied implicitly by the decision makers. Part of my project, inevitably, is to reverse this denial.”