From the Cloister to the City: Approaches to the Cistercian Land Management

The first Cistercian monasteries appeared in Portugal in the 12th century. The Portuguese Cistercian monasteries were set to the image of Clairvaux, the Cistercian branch which they mostly came from and which defined the typology of the place. Cistercian foundations were usually built in valleys, but many Portuguese Cistercian monasteries are the result of affiliations rather than foundations. There is a great concentration of monasteries in the north and centre of the country as opposed to all the territory to the south of the river Tagus. History and strong climatic contrasts had their repercussion in the implantation of the Cistercian monasteries in this territory. However, implantation errors happened and, for that reason, it was possible to change the site (as permitted by the Cistercian legislation) that is the change of a monastery from one place to another (as was the case of the Monastery of Santa Maria de Salzedas or the Monastery of S. Pedro das Águias). In a Cistercian monastery, water was an essential resource, not only essential to everyday life, regarding hygiene and energy needs, but it also had a very specific meaning and symbolism. 12th-century Cistercian hydraulic system was something extraordinarily new and water was always a constant element in the choice of Cistercian implantation sites. Some monasteries were the origin of settlements, thus reaching some important features and dimensions. This was the cases of Odivelas, which was settled alongside the Monastery of S. Dinis de Odivelas. and of the city of Alcobaça or Valado dos Frades (former farm of the "Coutos" of Alcobaça). The monastic space can be understood as a territorial organism in the way that it adapts itself to the territory, thus modelling and altering it according to its needs. In fact, this paper aims at discussing this process regarding not only the specificities of Portugal, as a country, but also the specificities of the Cistercian land management since the 12th century: this is from the cloister to the city.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Review of Portuguese Cistercian Monastic Heritage

This paper aims to present a contribution to the history of the reform and renewal in the Portuguese Cistercian monasteries throughout almost nine centuries of cultural and architectural history in this Country but focusing on the Beira’s Region. The Cistercian Order played a remarkable role in the affirmation of Portugal (1143) and had unquestionable position, since the medieval period, in the construction of a significant part of the Portuguese culture. The reform of many Monasteries came with the Autonomous Congregation of Alcobaça (1567). In fact, the Portuguese Cistercian Monasteries absorbed the regional ways of construction with masonry (granite in the north and limestone in the south) but it is without a doubt in its architecture that change and renewal can be found as strength and a tool for achieving a status of cultural landmarks. The renewal and reform in the Portuguese Cistercian Monasteries was not restricted to the styles in vogue but also was related to the physical expansion of the monasteries. This could be achieved by adding new aisles and cloisters like in Alcobaça or Salzedas Monasteries. Though there are cases of unconventional renewals and reformations such as the existence of two churches in the Monastery of Salzedas and the example of the open air Museum of the Monastery of S. João de Tarouca were can be found the former medieval monastery, as a result of new archaeological research and a prospective hypothesis of its volumetric layout, in between the walls of the 17th century dormitories and the Church. This continuous architectonic renewal is still being carried out in the 21st century either by the Portuguese Government through several heritage institutes since the 20th century or a few individuals on their one.The history of the Portuguese Cistercian Monasteries blends itself with the history of Portugal as the continuous architectonic renewals and reforms were also a result of nine centuries of events and changes in this Country.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cistercian Architectural Heritage as Cultural Landmarks

This approach will be based on the Cistercian heritage in Portugal through a systematic analysis of the Cistercian existences, its appropriation and insertion in the territory. So that this contex-tualization to be possible, it’s necessary to proceed to the identification of the territorial key-words, which provided the existence of these architectures in Portugal, as well as its integration, its transformation and its permanence in the territory. The geographical, topographical and his-toric approaches will be providing a typology scheme for the chosen sites. The relationship be-tween Cistercian architecture and actuality is deeply linked to the subject of how to rehabilitate this heritage. Which are the actions and the strategies to be used? How the monastic heritage does interact with the contemporary urban or rural territory? How an ideal becomes an architec-tonic reality? How the Cistercian architectural heritage becomes a cultural landmark

Deconstruction: Between Icon and Architectural Landmark, Two Spanish Examples

The 20th century was a period in the history of humanity that was marked by numerous technological advances, many discoveries and achievements in terms of knowledge, science and the arts, as well as numerous changes and political restructuring. In the Human Sciences, especially in Philosophy, new concepts and thoughts that marked and conquered the opinions of the intellectuals of that time emerged. One of these new concepts was the “Deconstruction” around the 60s of that century. The term “Deconstruction” was used for the first time by the philosopher Jacques Derrida in his work “De Grammatologie” in 1967. Deconstructivist Architecture emerged in the 80s of the 20th century. Deconstruction had as the main intention the rediscovery of new values, through the contrast of concepts, and the suppression of Modernism. Architecture was no exception, because new thoughts, styles, movements and new constructive techniques arose, which produced and caused a (re)affirmation of Architecture in society, through the implementation of new configurations and modern spatial conceptions. “Deconstruction”, as an architectural movement, arose from the fusion of the Russian Constructivism and other movements related to the philosophical concept of “Deconstruction” presented by Jacques Derrida. But it is the 1988 exhibition “Deconstructivist Architecture” organized by Marc Wigley and Philip Johnson at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), in New York, that acknowledges Deconstruction in Architecture. Frank Gehry, Peter Eisenman, Daniel Libeskind, Rem Koolhaas, Zaha Hadid, Coop Himmelb(l)au, and Bernard Tschumi were the avant-garde architects featured in this exhibition. On the 25th anniversary of the exhibition, MoMA curator Barry Bergdoll hosted “Deconstructivism: Retrospective Views and Actuality”, which traced the subsequent careers of that seven architects to examine the impact of the exhibition and the changes in architecture in those 25 years. This paper identifies the Deconstruction concepts that were the basis of deconstructivist architecture but keeping in mind that Iconic deconstructivist architects were not committed completely to all concepts of this philosophy as they produced their architectural objects. Two iconic buildings as Peter Eisenman’s City of Culture outside Santiago de Compostela (Spain) and Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (Spain) are presented to achieve the debate.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Built Heritage Research and History of Architecture: Light and Acoustic in the Cistercian Monastic Church of S. Bento de Cástris (Portugal)

The research on the Cistercian legacy in Portugal is an innovative multidisciplinary study. Consequently, the results achieved in this research have many different approaches: the former monasteries and their architecture are the main subjects concerning morphology, architectonic rehabilitation but also acoustics, thermal comfort, or natural light. This research, carried out at the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture of the University of Beira Interior (DECA-UBI), was developed in connection with two other research centres - Lab2PT (Landscape, Heritage and Territory Laboratory) and CIDEHUS (Interdisciplinary Centre for History, Culture and Societies). In 2015, the curriculum of the Integrated Master Degree in Architecture of the University of Beira Interior underwent revision. Consequently, it was needed to allocate more time to the teaching of History of Architecture and the requirement to assign specific syllabus to the Portuguese History of Architecture, which is emphasized by the specific and multidisciplinary research performed linking with other sciences of engineering. The natural light in the Cistercian churches is closely linked not only with the liturgical requirements at the officium but also with the canonical hours based on the "ora et labora" dictated by the Rule of St. Benedict. The Cistercian Monastery of São Bento de Cástris (13th-19th centuries), in Évora, Portugal, includes a church, at the south-eastern corner. This church presents an unusual space setting with two choirs which seems to favour different positions for coral groups supporting liturgical and musical expression activities within the research scope of a Research Project. As the light in the Cistercian Monasteries, mainly, in their churches, is mostly related to the fulfilment of liturgical needs, this paper analyses the relationship between daylight conditions within the monastic choirs located within the monastic church. The chant was a very important way of oration and thus of the liturgy. This was the ORFEUS Project – “The Tridentine Reform and music in the cloistral silence: The Monastery of S. Bento de Cástris” which was based on a multidisciplinary approach around the Tridentine Reform with reflexes in the musical Cistercian feminine matrix between the 16th and 18th centuries on Cistercian Monasteries. This paper describes the objectives and methodology applied to the case study thus linking Built Heritage Research and History of Architecture, i.e., Research and Education.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Essence of Daylight in the Cistercian Monastic Church of S. Bento de Cástris, Évora, Portugal

Natural light in the Cistercian churches is closely linked not only with the liturgical requirements at the “officium” but also with the canonical hours based on the "ora et labora" dictated by the Rule of St. Benedict. The Cistercian architecture, in its beginnings (12th century forward) is characterized by austerity, simplicity and the play of light and shadow that gives value to the monastic architectural space itself, making it perfect for a contemplative experience. In the Cistercian Monastery the church is the central piece of the monastic building. Nave, transept and apse are the main architectural components to which is added the choir. This paper contextualizes the importance and close connections of natural light, within the Cistercian Monasteries architecture. Thus the essence of daylight is analyzed within the Church of the Monastery of S. Bento de Cástris, in Évora, Portugal. This former Monastery (13th - 19th centuries) includes the church, at the southeastern corner which has not only a high choir, but also a low lateral choir (within the presbytery). Its unchanged exterior walls are made of solid masonry. Although the function of the walls is primarily structural, the windows allow the daylight to penetrate the space of the church. The church has two external façades facing northeast and southeast. The combined orientation effect of the church’s main axis and the sun trajectory determines how the sunlight reaches the interior of this architectural structure. This study presents the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the luminous environment in the church of S. Bento de Cástris, being the first based on the authors’ perception of the effect of the daylight within the different areas of the enclosed space. The appreciation of the spatial experiences was supported by quantitative daylight simulations that were conducted in selected areas within the space. With this paper is intended to contribute to the debate about the specificity of daylight, in the context of Cistercian architecture.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

As arquitecturas de Cister em Portugal: a actualidade das suas reabilitações e a sua inserção no território

La elección del tema recae en su actualidad así como en el creciente interés que ha sido y que sigue siendo demostrado y desarrollado a la escala mundial. El legado cisterciense en Portugal forma parte de algo más vasto como el plan integral de las arquitecturas del Císter en toda Europa estándose desarrollando un programa integrado de recuperación y rehabilitación del patrimonio cisterciense. Este plan integrado no solo tiene por fin la recuperación, rehabilitación y valoración del patrimonio cisterciense como también el incremento del interés cultural por el territorio. Las marcas del legado de la Orden del Císter en Portugal están constituidas por monasterios, abadías, iglesias, envolventes urbanísticas y rurales, patrimonio industrial, así como patrimonio mueble, tradiciones, ritos y cultos que se constituyen en unidades no solo arquitectónicas sino artísticas y paisajísticas, de elevado valor patrimonial que merecen ser estudiadas y preservadas. El Instituto Portugués del Patrimonio Arquitectónico (IPPAR) conjuntamente con otras instituciones ha desarrollado los “Itinerarios del Císter” que con la transformación del IPPAR en IGESPAR, fue sustituido por el programa “Conjuntos Monásticos” que englobaba también ejemplares arquitectónicos de otras Ordenes. Posteriormente el IGESPAR sustituyó el programa “Conjuntos Monásticos” por el programa “Monasterios Portugueses Patrimonio de la Humanidad”. A pesar de que el Patrimonio Cisterciense, en Portugal, empieza a insertarse en un plan totalizante y transeuropeo, no deja de prestar su contribución en la vitalización de los planes locales o regionales de desarrollo e identificación cultural. En la actualidad Portugal integra la Carta Europea de los Monasterios y Sitios Cistercienses (Charte des Abbayes et Sites Cisterciens d’Europe), entidad fundada informalmente, hace poco más de dos décadas, en la Abadía de Pontigny pero que apenas en el año 1993, en la Abadía de Fontenay, se concretizaron y oficializaron sus estatutos [Tese de doutoramento defendida na Universidade de Sevilha e posteriormente requerido registo do grau académico na UBI].http://fondosdigitales.us.es/tesis/tesis/2230/arquitecturas-de-cister-em-portugal-actualidade-das-suas-reabilitacoes-e-sua-insercao-no-territorio/#descriptio

Minimalismo cisterciense: Del cister del siglo XII al mínimum del siglo XXI

In this paper we will present the principles, foundations and bases of the Cistercian ideal with its architectural materialization, of great simplicity and asceticism, both in its genesis in the 12th century and now at the beginning of the new millennium. A Cistercian monastery is understood as a place full of ideals and spirituality, where God is sought. The Cistercian monastery is thus an ideal that has a representation and materialization that, with the passing centuries, underwent some transformations and adaptations. It will be the objective of this work to make a parallel between the austere architecture of the Cîteaux of the 12th century, the plan ad quadratum of the churches and all the influence of the apparent plan-type of its monasteries, in the architecture of the following centuries.A connection will be made between all these principles and the recent rehabilitation of an old farm in present-day Czech Republic. The architect was the minimalist John Pawson and the farm is currently the Monastery of Novy Dvur, the first Cistercian monastery of post-communism in the Czech Republic.There are questions for which an answer will be sought. What were the Cistercian architectural ideals and how did they materialize over the centuries? How was the Cistercian spirituality understood from the Apology of Saint Bernard until our days? What were the Cistercian ideals and reality in its genesis of the twelfth century and what was its legacy? And in our days, how are the Cistercian ideals materialized? That is, how is it possible that this spirituality has an architectural materialization and that it continues to influence contemporary architects, not only in their work but also instigating them to create an architecture full of spirituality as is the case of the Novy Dvur Monastery? That is, from the Cîteaux of the 12th century until the minimum of the 21st century.En esta comunicación se presentará los principios, fundamentos y bases del ideal cisterciense con su materialización arquitectónica, de gran simplicidad y ascetismo, tanto en su génesis en el siglo XII como ahora en el arranque del nuevo milenio. Se entiende un monasterio cisterciense como un lugar lleno de ideales y de espiritualidad, dónde se busca a Dios. El monasterio cisterciense es así un ideal que tiene una representación y materialización que, con los siglos transcurridos, sufrieron algunas transformaciones y adaptaciones. Será el objetivo de este trabajo hacer un paralelo entre la austera arquitectura del Císter del siglo XII, del plan ad quadratum de las iglesias y de toda la influencia del aparente plan-tipo de sus monasterios, en la arquitectura de los siglos siguientes.Se hará una conexión entre todos estos principios y la reciente rehabilitación de una antigua granja en la actual Republica Checa. El arquitecto fue el minimalista John Pawson y la granja es actualmente el Monasterio de Novy Dvur, el primer monasterio cisterciense del post-comunismo en la Republica Checa.Hay cuestiones para las cuales se buscará respuesta, ¿Cuáles fueran los ideales arquitectónicos cistercienses y como se materializaron a lo largo de los siglos?, ¿Como se entendió, de modo arquitectónico, la espiritualidad cisterciense desde la Apología de San Bernardo hasta nuestros días?, ¿Cuáles fueron los ideales y la realidad cistercienses en su génesis del siglo XII y cual fue su legado?, ¿Y en nuestros días, como se materializan los ideales cistercienses? O sea, ¿Cómo es posible que esta espiritualidad tenga una materialización arquitectónica y que siga influenciando arquitectos contemporáneos, no solo en su obra como también instigándoles a la creación de una arquitectura llena de espiritualidad como es el caso del Monasterio de Novy Dvur? Esto es, del Císter del siglo XII hasta el minimum del siglo XXI

Património Arquitectónico Cisterciense: um contínuo testemunho

A Ordem de Cister foi introduzida, no nosso país, no séc. XII e os seus mosteiros estiveram desde o início associados ao desenvolvimento de Portugal enquanto nação. A história do Património cisterciense português confunde-se com a própria história de Portugal. Actualmente, Portugal faz parte da ‘Carta Europeia dos Mosteiros e Sítios Cistercienses’, desde 2009, sendo representado pelos Mosteiros de Alcobaça, Arouca, S. Cristóvão de Lafões, Salzedas e Tabosa. Consequentemente, o património arquitectónico cisterciense nacional, faz igualmente parte da ‘Rota Europeia das Abadias Cistercienses’ à qual foi atribuída, em 2010, a menção ‘Itinerário Cultural do Conselho da Europa’

From the Horizontal Garden to the Vertical Garden: An Architectural and Environmental Perspective of the “Green” Element

Throughout human history, gardens comprised many purposes. With the evolution of society, there were villages, towns and cities organized according to geographical, economic, social and cultural characteristics of each epoch. Throughout the history of mankind, the "green" element has always been present. Gardens accompanied this development depending on the theories in vogue and had several purposes: they were sacred spaces, leisure spaces or spaces of healing; they were architectural elements in the characterization of outdoor spaces; they were areas of experimentation and research. After the Industrial Revolution, urban areas have expanded dramatically, occupying large amounts of rural soil replacing natural vegetation with the modernist urban structure. At the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, the acquired garden concept had been challenged, stretching, instead, over a horizontal surface in the form of green roofs which characterized many of the modernist buildings. In fact, from the modernist movement on, horizontal covers, that lead to various experiments in the context of green roofs and garden which may be used and enjoyed by its inhabitants or covered and accessible only for maintenance purposes, have appeared. Through the end of the 20th century and early 21st century, the horizontal roof was then an experimental ground on which architecture could respond to a new challenge: the green facades or vertical gardens. In this way, the built environment can be the support for a new concept of green structure and urban or rural "green", i.e, a vertical garden: a green facade. This new "green skin" of the building can regulate the temperature and air quality as well as control the amount of light inside the building or be an aesthetic element of the architectural coating. New architectural elements are created through which adverse environmental conditions are mitigated, either on new construction or on architectural rehabilitation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio