Preservation of urban tissue and densification

the inventories in Porto Alegre and the example of Montevideo

Abstract

The study examines the evolution of the preservation of built heritage for urban fabrics composed of goods that do not have the necessary exceptionality for listing, using the specific case of Porto Alegre for the purpose. The protection of these sets through heritage inventories is justified because they present architectural characteristics of sociocultural interest, being referential spaces of collective memory and urban identity itself, which are threatened by mischaracterizing master plans. This recent alternative modality of preservation has its use restricted to the municipal sphere, since the Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional and state heritage agencies seek to protect works in categories corresponding to their hierarchies through tipping. However, the necessary measure aggravated the existing economic conflict in the preservation of private cultural assets, especially those “smaller” and more numerous, due to the impossibility of replacing these with new financially advantageous buildings. The work discusses the theme, proposing the “densification” of the built area of the affected buildings as a resource to alleviate the existing obstacles, using as a possible example the contrasting case of Montevideo, exposed in a succinct way.