Fernanda Seixas, a Woman’s Take on Architecture as Social Intervention

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_zarch/zarch.2022186244

Keywords:

Women Architects, Bioclimatic Architecture, Portugal, Estado Novo, Feminist Practices

Abstract

This paper sheds light upon architect Fernanda Seixas (1942-2017) as a trailblazing woman in her disciplinary field in Portugal. Her archives, a set of interviews, and bibliographical research allow us to pinpoint certain characteristics that make her stand out amongst her peers, and consider her as a woman succeeding in a ‘male profession’. Trained during an era of political dissent in which she actively participated against the dictatorship of Estado Novo in the 1960s, Seixas created her own practice right after the 1974 revolution and envisaged her work as a space of socio-political activism. In the 1980s her social consciousness broadened to include environmental concerns and she became a pioneering architect on the issues of energy efficiency and bioclimatic architecture. This technical approach combined with her social ethos stand out in her planning projects and built work.

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Author Biographies

Sara Sucena, Universidade Fernando Pessoa

Sara Sucena is an architect (1994, FA-UPorto, Portugal), holds a Master degree in Project and Planning of the Urban Environment (1998, FE-UPorto, Portugal) and a PhD in Urbanism (2011, ETSABarcelona-UPC, Spain). She is Associate Professor in the Master degree in Architecture and Urbanism at Universidade Fernando Pessoa (UFP), in Porto, Portugal, where she has been teaching since 1999. She is also a member of the Scientific Committee of ‘A Obra Nasce’, the UFP’s peer-reviewed Journal of Architecture and Urbanism, being one of its editors and, as well, responsible for its scientific coordination. She is Research Associate at the «Center for Studies in Architecture and Urbanism» of the Faculty of Architecture of University of Porto (CEAU/FAUP, Porto) and Research Fellow at the Laboratory of Studies and Project» of University Fernando Pessoa (LEP/UFP, Porto). Sara has practiced architecture/planning until 2005, particularly within the Municipal Planning context. Her interests focus mainly on Urbanism and Urban Planning – city, urban morphology, spatial structure and public space design.

João Castro Ferreira, Universidade Fernando Pessoa

João Castro Ferreira is an architect (1992, FA-UPorto, Portugal), holds a Master degree in Building Construction (2004, FE-UPorto, Portugal) and a PhD in Architecture - Urban Form and Dynamics (2013, FA-UPorto, Portugal). Since 2004 he is Assistant Professor in the Master degree in Architecture and Urbanism at Universidade Fernando Pessoa (UFP), in Porto, Portugal. He is a member of the Scientific Committee of ‘A Obra Nasce’, the UFP’s peer-reviewed Journal of Architecture and Urbanism. He is an Invited Researcher at the «Center for Studies in Architecture and Urbanism» of the Faculty of Architecture of University of Porto (CEAU/FAUP, Porto) and a Research Fellow at the Laboratory of Studies and Project» of University Fernando Pessoa (LEP/UFP, Porto). João develops activity as an independent architect since 1992.

References

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Published

2022-09-02

How to Cite

Sucena, S., & Castro Ferreira, J. (2022). Fernanda Seixas, a Woman’s Take on Architecture as Social Intervention. ZARCH. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Architecture and Urbanism, (18), 134–147. https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_zarch/zarch.2022186244

Issue

No. 18 (2022): Women, Feminist Practices and Alternative Practitioners in Architecture

Section

Topic papers