Out & About: Escadinhas Footpaths in Matosinhos

The walking tour we propose is intended to demonstrate the added value that low-budget projects can bring to more ‘hidden’, neglected urban spaces in our cities. We propose a pedestrian footpath linking the hilly neighbourhood of Monte Xisto to the banks of the River Leça in Matosinhos. Paulo Moreira explains the process. We cross through Rua das Escadinhas and we reach an old ruin, now transformed into a seating area surrounded by nature. Bring comfortable shoes.

Escadinhas Footpaths in Matosinhos

The project, Escadinhas Footpaths by Paulo Moreira Architectures + Verkron, aims to ‘stitch together’ the uneven topography of Monte Xisto, which is poorly connected to the surrounding area. Despite its geographical proximity to the River Leça valley and the centre of the parish, the neighbourhood is isolated by the lack of access. Through a comparatively modest investment in a context of social and territorial exclusion, the project aimed to improve the neighbourhood’s access to the surrounding natural environment. In the first phase of the building work, the steps leading to Rua das Escadinhas, an unusual urban device connecting the upper and lower levels of the western hill of Monte Xisto, were rehabilitated. Following the path that links the foot of the steps to the River Leça, an old ruin was rebuilt and transformed into a seating area surrounded by nature. The meticulous rehabilitation of the site, which included adding benches in every ‘room’, has encouraged people to spend time there and transformed it into a place for socialising.

Guided tour: 4 May / 11:00 CET

Meeting point:
Rua Monte do Xisto,
Guifões, Matosinho

◾Guided tour with Paulo Moreira; Helena Roseta; Clara Vale; Victor Martins; Pedro Gonçalves; Lucio Magri

Language: Portuguese, English & Spanish

✓ No registration required

Out & About 2024

“Out & About. Discovering Architecture. EUmies Awards 2024” will take place from April onwards in over 30 European places in which shortlisted works of the prize are located. Organised by Creative Europe, Fundació Mies van der Rohe and the indisputable expertise of Guiding Architects, everybody has the opportunity to know much more about buildings and public spaces in their cities or in places that they are visiting with the authors, clients and people who know them well.