Art and Architecture as Opponents against the Cultural Identity Loss in the Context of a Post-Industrial Environment - The Case of the Manufacturing Villages of Cebolais de Cima and Retaxo, Portugal

Abstract

Facing the dramatic desertification extent of the territory under study, this article presents the results of an experimental methodology approach on the regeneration of landscapes in the national territory, where man, communities, architecture, art and landscape combine in a visible result, image of synthesis, itself revealing the problem. The deactivation process of the local textile industry, in the territory of Cebolais de Cima and Retaxo, Castelo Branco, Portugal, was marked by a period of stagnation, abandonment and degradation of its manufacturing sites and consequently, of deep degradation of the urban and human landscape. This landscape, which was mainly characterized by an intensive work environment and industrial production, is today essentially portrayed through a legacy of abandoned buildings, materials and machinery, scattered throughout the distorted scenery. It is therefore in a physical, social and human environment with a high rate of abandonment and degradation that matrixes will be found for a process of collaboration between an active group of local forces and the critical mass offered by the University. This was intended to incite a strong awakening of the various agents involved in the alarming conformism installed in these settlements, an environment that transcends the entire frontier territory of the interior border between Portugal and Spain. The beginning of this path with several steps and still in a preliminary stage was offered to students of architecture in Lisbon. It was the opportunity to learn realities other than those of their daily lives, in a universe of excess of information, but weak reflection. It also allowed them to challenge their points of view against the ones of those few who still live in the territory and preferred to stay rather than emigrate as most already did. For this difficult rendezvous, several actions were planned during two years, in Lisbon and Cebolais de Cima and Retaxo, culminating in the so-called Creative Assault, the "occupation" of an abandoned factory intended as a wake-up call for awareness. For three days, various activities and exhibitions took place in this space, inviting the community and local authorities to participate, as well as the students involved in the various moments of work.