Encompassing the study of architecture, landscape and territory, the Southern Landscapes cluster (PI: Maria Helena Maia) is one of the unit’s longest-standing and most established research strands, organised around two types of approach, both understood from an operational perspective:
1. An analytical approach, based on the relationship between Modern architecture, rurality and vernacular architecture, initiated with the projects ‘Popular Architecture in Portugal. A Critical Reading (PTDC/AUR-AQI/099063/2008) and Southern Modernisms (EXPL/CPC-HAT/0191/2013), both funded by the FCT. This was followed by the transnational collaborative project MODSCAPES - Modernist Reinventions of the Rural Landscape (HERA.15.097/ Horizon 2020 grant agreement No. 649307). This strand examines the profound transformations of the European landscape in the 20th century, notably through hydraulic works, afforestation and mining, the transformation of agricultural land, as well as the creation of new settlements associated with inner colonisation policies or with companies such as hydroelectric power stations or mining enterprises. This includes the PhD theses defended on the Douro and Cávado hydroelectric facilities and the ongoing projects on Rural housing in the context of inner colonisation: a comparative analysis of case studies in Southern Europe (PI: Alexandra Cardoso), The Douro settlements: experiences of inner colonization on both sides of the river (PI: Alexandra Trevisan), Hidden Modernity (PI: Michele Cannatà) and Urgeiriça: The mining district and the landscape of nuclear mining (Postdoc by Joana Rafael).
2. A purposeful approach, based on proposals for heritage enhancement and landscape regeneration, with a focus on biodiversity and local development. This includes projects such as the Terras de Coura Landscape Plan (Norte 2020), recognised as an example of good practice, or the ongoing projects Terras de Coura Landscape Observatory (IR: Isabel Matias), Industrial Landscapes. The Hidden Modern Route (IR: Fátima Fernandes) and Mining Landscapes. The Black Gold Route (IR: Fátima Fernandes).