Requalification of the Surroundings of Santa Maria de Alcobaça s Monastery

Understanding the present configuration of the City of Alcobaça and its Rossio, or central public square, is synonymous with comprehending the genesis of the Cistercian Abbey, and how it relates to the territory, how it has evolved, interacted with the town and undergone changes throughout the centuries. With all its symbolic value, water was an ally of the monks. Supplying the Abbey with water and draining it entailed the construction of sluices and branches for its collection and distribution. The Monastery of Alcobaça was erected at the bottom of two valleys before the confluence of two rivers. The Alcôa, on higher ground, allows water to be collected, and the Baça, on lower ground, draines it. Celebrating the water and sensing the presence of the rivers is decisive in this context. Restoring the inclination of the square and creating a surface gutters network both enhance and display the draining of the water running to the river. A gutter for running water reveals the alignment of the Church with the Castle and the presence of the river Baça, flowing underneath Eng. Duarte Pacheco Street. The fountain at D. Afonso Henriques square is enhanced and restored to its original height. In the east, the path of the old bridge over the river Alcôa is reinstated and its presence emphasized. D. Pedro V Street is lowered to its original height, thereby freeing the corner and the openings of the Monastery. The gravel surrounding the Abbey evokes the ancient yard. The architectural design aims to promote and encourage a relationship of complementariness and harmony between the City and the Monastery. Understanding the present configuration of the City of Alcobaça and its Rossio, or central public square, is synonymous with comprehending the genesis of the Cistercian Abbey, and how it relates to the territory, how it has evolved, interacted with the town and undergone changes throughout the centuries. With all its symbolic value, water was an ally of the monks. Supplying the Abbey with water and draining it entailed the construction of sluices and branches for its collection and distribution. The Monastery of Alcobaça was erected at the bottom of two valleys before the confluence of two rivers. The Alcôa, on higher ground, allows water to be collected and the Baça, on lower ground, draines it.

Celebrating the water and sensing the presence of the rivers is decisive in this context. Restoring the inclination of the square and creating a surface gutters network both enhance and display the draining of the water running to the river. A gutter for running water reveals the alignment of the Church with the Castle and the presence of the river Baça, flowing underneath Eng. Duarte Pacheco Street. The fountain at D. Afonso Henriques square is enhanced and restored to its original height. In the east, the path of the old bridge over the river Alcôa is reinstated and its presence emphasized. D. Pedro V Street is lowered to its original height, thereby freeing the corner and the openings of the Monastery. The gravel surrounding the Abbey evokes the ancient yard. Gonçalo Byrne & J. P. Falcão de Campos

The building materials and technologies were those available in the surroundings and historically used in the monastery: 'vidraço' limestone from the local quarries, in walls and pavements, 'lioz' limestone in running water gutters and fountains, gravel from local extraction, in the monastery exterior yards. The use of local craftsmanship, technology and materials permitted a dynamic construction process, where, to each new archaeological finding and project requirement, was possible to give an almost immediate and informed response, in a continuous dialogue and coordination with people, resou