The Sobreiro Social Neighbourhood was recently distinguished with an Honorable Mention in the Nuno Teotónio Pereira Prize, the oldest in the real estate sector in Portugal. The awards ceremony took place this Monday, January 30, at the Museu da Eletricidade, in Lisbon, and was attended by the Secretary of State for Housing, Fernanda Rodrigues, and the President of the Institute for Housing and Rehabilitation Urbana, I.P. (IHRU), Isabel Dias.

Within Maia’s Implementation Plan for SPARCS project, Sobreiro is a fundamental territorial stage to implement some of our fifteen (15) project ideas solutions, worked in the City Lab Innovation Workshops, namely the rehabilitation of municipal buildings and installation of RES and e-generation technologies and the “Integration of new local “eco – neghbourhoods”.

The Nuno Teotónio Pereira Prize distinguishes and encourages good practices in the IHRU’s areas of activity, both in terms of Urban Rehabilitation and Scientific Production. This edition registered 55 applications for the competition, 45 in the field of urban rehabilitation and 10 applications in the field of scientific production work.

Espaço Municipal, as the promoter of the rehabilitation work at Jardins do Sobreiro, was distinguished with an Honorable Mention corresponding to the Rehabilitation of the Blocks of the housing development, in the variant of the prize “Rehabilitation of Urban Ensemble or Requalification of Public Space”.

The architectural project was developed between 2017 and 2018 by the architect and executive administrator of the municipal company, Nuno Antunes Lopes and by the architect Sofia Mota.

The intervention now distinguished is part of a comprehensive process of urban regeneration and rehabilitation of the buildings in that housing complex and the public space, today transformed into the Sobreiro Gardens, implementing the strategy and vision of the Municipality of Maia.

The Mayor of Maia, António Silva Tiago, emphasizes that “it is always gratifying to obtain external recognition from public entities whose credibility and prestige are unquestionable. In fact, this honorable mention recognizes the true revolution that is underway there, opening up all that housing development to the city, qualifying the urban landscape, which today forms part of a harmonious continuum of public space, with wide arteries, generous green spaces and improved outdoor enjoyment areas.”  

As part of the North 2020  Regional Operational Programme, and included in a broader strategy for the urban regeneration of the center of Maia, the operation in question included the rehabilitation of the exterior surroundings of the blocks and their interior common areas, with the aim of improving the thermal comfort of the dwellings.

The intervention involved the application of a ventilated façade system with thermal insulation incorporated into the air gap, the replacement of window frames with new ones with thermal break and double glazing, the renovation of the roof, the introduction of mechanical and self-regulating ventilation systems, the elimination of multiple constructive pathologies and, inherently, the requalification of the exterior image of buildings.

For more information:

Dr. Fernando Gomes
Head of Unit, Strategy, Development and Innovation, City of Maia
fernando.gomes@cm-maia.pt