Architecture students explore Lisbon’s post-industrial landscapes

Second and final year BA (Hons) Architecture students recently travelled to Lisbon, Portugal, as part of their ongoing design projects. The trip provided an opportunity to investigate how architecture responds to history, materiality, and environmental transformation within post-industrial contexts.

The visit began at the Lisbon Architecture Triennale, hosted at the Centro Cultural de Belém, where students explored the curatorial theme 'How heavy is a city?'. This exhibition prompted discussions around urban density, material consumption, and the weight of human activity on the built environment - setting the conceptual groundwork for the rest of the trip.

Working in collaboration with the international art residency group PADA Studios, students then toured the post-industrial region of Barreiro, situated across the Tagus River. Through PADA's guidance, the group gained rare access to derelict and contaminated industrial sites - spaces typically closed to the public. These atmospheric ruins offered a unique lens through which to consider architecture's relationship with decay, memory, and regeneration.

Students were introduced to previous site-specific artistic interventions that have taken place within Barreiro's abandoned structures. Inspired by these, they conducted their own experimental surveys, including sound recordings of the wasteland, pinhole camera exposures, earth and vegetation sampling, and site-based film projections. These hands-on explorations encouraged new ways of documenting and interpreting the site's material and sensory qualities.

The gathered research will directly inform each student's design proposals, focusing on the redevelopment of key industrial ruins. Their speculative projects aim to reimagine these spaces through cultural and community-based interventions - such as workshops, maker spaces, galleries, and performance venues. By weaving together narratives of industry, ecology, and art, students are envisioning new futures for post-toxic landscapes, where the scars of the past can evolve into spaces of creativity and renewal.

A special thank you to Tim at PADA Studios for an insightful and inspiring tour that deepened our understanding of Lisbon's complex industrial heritage and the potential of architecture to engage with sites in transition.