Quinzena’21
Quinzena is a mini-festival on architecture, urban culture and spatial practices hosted by Porto’s Instituto.
Running for 15 days, Quinzena’21 was the festival’s first online edition. The festival comprised of 6 conversations, curated and moderated by architect and journalist Catarina de Almeida Brito, with a total of 22 guests—architects but also artists, activists, researchers, urban planners, photographers, students and designers.
People tuned in from Peru, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mozambique, Norway, Belgium, Ireland, the UK, Germany, Spain, Portugal, with over 1000 views on YouTube only.
Pertinent themes in contemporary architecture were addressed— nature, housing and health, civic action, communication, tactical urbanism, among others.
Watch events on Instituto’s YouTube channel.
Read about Quinzena’21 in Publico ‘Quinzena’21: ir além da arquitectura’ (26-01-2021)
Quinzena happens every year and celebrates the anniversary of the original project of the building where Instituto was set up, at 44 Rua dos Clérigos. The project by architect Júlio de Brito was presented to Porto City Council on the 20th January 1955 and approved about two weeks later, on the 7th February. The record time approval of the project, in a fortnight (quinzena in Portuguese), is now celebrated annually.
REWILDING—20/01/2021, 17:00
2021 marks the beginning of what the United Nations has declared as the decade of ecosystem restoration. What is the value of nature in built spaces? How can we cultivate wilderness in our daily lives?
Participants: Cristina Monteiro, DK-CM (UK), Vilde Braanaas, 3RW arkitekter (NO), Tiago Patatas (PT)
HOUSING AND HEALTH—22/01/2021, 17:00
In 2020, we started giving more importance to the houses we live in, to the new relationship between individuals and their communities, and to the collective health of our neighbourhoods. What actions can we take to improve the way we live together?
Participants: Joana Pestana Lages (PT), Tiago Mota Saraiva (PT), Mariana Alegre, Lima Como Vamos (PE)
EMERGING PRACTICES—27/01/2021, 17:00
From London and Hamburg, to Porto, these three emerging studios find different ways to work in architecture, whether in rehabilitation, temporary installations or curation.
Participants: Léa Grande, Studio 163 (UK), depA architects (PT), João Quintela and Tim Simon, JQTS (DE/PT)
COMMUNICATING ARCHITECTURE—29/01/2021 18:30, 17:00
Every day we are bombarded with information: at a time when the role of the architect is questioned several times, how can we communicate the work of architects to the public?
Participants: Joana Carvalho e Marco Santos, Combo Architects Studio (PT), Catarina Silva, Arquitectura Entre Vistas (PT), Ivo Tavares Studio (PT)
CIVIC—03/02/2021, 17:00
At a time when human fragility is more apparent, how can we stimulate feelings of collectiveness, mutual care and ‘civicness’? This session has the participation of artists whose practice focuses on the collective.
Participants: Sahra Hersi (UK), Emma Dorothy Conley, Genomic Gastronomy (US), Colectivo Warehouse (PT)
TACTICAL URBANISM—05/02/2021, 17:00
Around the world, the construction of temporary interventions in urban spaces, so-called 'pop-up', is slowly gaining ground. How can we use art and architecture to design spaces for communities and by communities?
Participants: Ralf Alwani, Urban Scale Interventions (IR), Jonathan Chomko (CA), Sofia Costa Pinto, EDA (PT)