PORTO SPRING 2022 CONFERENCE
Thursday, April 21 - Monday, April 25, 2022

Enthusiastic reviews have been pouring in from Porto where we held the first in-person AIA European Conference since the start of the pandemic. Over 65 AIA members and guests attended from all over Europe and as far away as Honolulu. The hospitality of our Portuguese hosts and local colleagues was unforgettable, as was the architecture, culture, cuisine and the unique Porto atmosphere.

The conference theme - “transition” - was developed via presentations, walking tours and visits of various buildings and urban developments throughout Porto. We saw how the city has evolved in a historical, economic, cultural, and touristic context since our previous Porto conference in 2004. We learned about various initiatives to foster sustainable growth while preserving the rich historical context that earned the city its classification as UNESCO World Heritage. We engaged with local professionals, government officials, and students to understand the complexities and solutions that are contributing to Porto’s success as a thriving historical city.

Venues and historical sites visited during the conference included:

Opening reception at the Praça de Lisboa, a dynamic urban space designed by Pedro Balonas
Porto historic center, including the São Bento train station, Sé do Porto Cathedral, Luis I iron bridge, Jardim do Morro, Cais de Gaia, Ribeira do Porto…
São Bento metro station, part of the transit system designed by Souto de Moura and Álvaro Siza
Faculty of Architecture campus designed by Álvaro Siza where we were hosted by Dean J-P Xavier for presentations in the school auditorium.
Casa da Musica, designed by OMA partners Rem Koolhaas and Ellen van Loon (which we visited under construction in 2004);
Casa de Chá (Boa Nova Tea House) and Piscina das Marés (swimming pool complex) by Ávaro Siza
Ilha da Bela Vista, traditional worker housing, recently restored by Cerejeira Fontes Architects
Leixões Cruise Ship Terminal designed by Luís Pedro Silva
Vodafone Porto headquarters by Barbosa & Guimarães
Soares dos Reis Museum
Porto Botanical Gardens and the elegant Casa Andresen where we hosted a delegation of local architects and representatives of the Portuguese Order of Architects
Álvaro Siza’s Serralves Museum as well as the Casa do Cinema, Casa de Ténis, Gardens and Treetop Walk
City Park, a vast urban oasis which replaced a brownfield site, connecting the city to the seafront
Passadiço das Ondas (seaside promenade) designed by Solá Morales
Centro de Alto Rendimento do Pocinho (rowing center) designed by Álvaro Fernandes Andrade
Côa Parque museum in Foz Côa designed by Camilo Rebelo and Tiago Pimentel which included a full-day trip into the Douro valley.

As we all know, the quality of our conferences would not be possible without the faithful and enthusiastic support of our Corporate Partners:

Gold Partner ABB, Katrin Foerster hosted a festive dinner at the Casa da Musica which included a preview of the latest episode of Frozen Music featuring Raffles City Chongqing by Safdie Architects
Bronze Partner TECE, represented by Simone Bronke
And MFS, our newest Bronze Partner, specialized in the engineering of geometrically complex facades and building envelopes, represented by Lukas Romanczin.

Last by not least, AIA Continental Europe is grateful for the meticulous planning and dedication of the conference organizing committee chaired by Ray Spano with local architects Teresa Vasconcelos Bento, Pedro Balonas and Pedro Petracchi…not to mention the unfaltering, behind-the-scenes support of Elizabeth Heudebourg!

See some more photographs here, thank you Sergio Accatino!