TOPOGRAFIAS DE DESTRUIÇÃO E RECONSTRUÇÃO: REFLEXÕES sobre um descampado E UMA MONTANHA
Chapter published in the book Extreme Sites: An Operative Bibliography for Research in Artistic and Spatial Practices, edited by Inês Moreira (CEAA-ESAP), Susana Gaudêncio & Laís Rabello de Andrade. The volume is part of the Landscapes, Heritage & Territory / Research collection and was published in 2025 by Lab2PT — Landscapes, Heritage and Territory Laboratory, School of Architecture, Art and Design, University of Minho.
A large expanse of vacant ground borders the railway line near the Rego neighbourhood in Lisbon. Cut through by roads, interrupted by the passage of trains, and colonised by vegetation that is at times impassable, it forms a broad ruderal field in a central area of the city. Among the grasses and trees, amid waste and abandoned objects, informal urban gardens define cultivated plots scattered across the site. Beyond the food crops, whose variety changes with the seasons, these small divisions are structured by tiny tool sheds, numerous improvised containers for collecting water, living fences made of reeds, and makeshift steps and passages built from bricks and reused materials. In this ‘empty’ and vegetated terrain, there are few traces capable of revealing with any precision what kinds of occupations may have existed there in the past. Excerpt of the text by Flora Paim.
Paim, F. (2025). “Topographies of Destruction and Reconstruction: Reflections on a Vacant Ground and a Mountain.” In I. Moreira, S. Gaudêncio & L. Rabello de Andrade (Eds.), Extreme Sites: An Operative Bibliography for Research in Artistic and Spatial Practices. Lab2PT, Landscapes, Heritage & Territory / Research collection. ISBN: 978-989-9251-11-3.
