ARCHITECTURE: Pedro Pacheco and Marie Clément / João Figueira, Pedro Bandeira, Luís Miguel Fareleira, José Miguel Rodrigues and Ana Luísa Rodrigues / Pedro George and Associados _______________________________________________ ADDRESS: Aldeia da Luz, Mourão _______________________________________________ CITY: Mourão ______________________________________________ DATE: 1996-2003 _______________________________________________ VISIT: Inside - Outside _______________________________________________ MORE DETAILS: The New Aldeia da Luz was inaugurated in 2002, built from scratch 2km away from the old one which, was desmantled and submersed by the Alqueva reservoir. The Alqueva dam is the largest in Europe. It was built with the objective to irrigate the entire Alentejo region, forseeing that it will introduce mid-term changes to the typical climate of this region. In the new village, along with the 210 houses, various collective equipments were built, of which we highlight the Museum, the Churche, the Multipurpose Pavilion, the Bullfighting Arena, the Water tank and the Health Centre. Architects authors of the plan evidentiated great sense when renouncing part of their academic axiomas and by working with the population in a process that was intended to be participatory, having as a motto:”neither heritage, nor nabula rasa”. The Museum, main equipment of the new village, was opened in 2003 and searches to perpetuate, through its assets, the historic past of the old village submersed by the reservoir. _______________________________________________
