As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, the republican-spírited reforms of secondary education (1895 and 1905) sought to promote the teaching of science in schools, in order to modernise society and the city, providing useful training for the lives of its citizens. The construction of new high schools thus had as its objective a response to the programmatic requirements of modern teaching, as well as the advancement, through this urban facility, of the citys development.
In Porto, the location of the high school would seek to consolidate the expansion of the city westward, in the direction of the new Boavista Square, in accordance with the Improvement Scheme (1881). In this context, the architect José Marques da Silva was invited by the head of Porto High School to design a new building on the Rua do Triunfo (Triumph Street, now known as the Rua D. Manuel II) in 1902. However, four years later this project would be reconsidered in the context of the new legislation which divided the city into two districts, and consequently into two high schools, one in the east and one in the west.
It fell to Marques da Silva to design both high schools: in the east, the Alexandre Herculano High School, by invitation, and in the west, the Rodrigues de Freitas High School, by competition.
 

Alexandre Herculano High School

Alexandre Herculano High School , Ground Floor Plan (3rd proposal) and aerial view, n.d.

Start of project 1914
Date of commencement of work 1916
Opening date 1934

Classification as a Monument of Public Interest 2011 (Dec. 226/2011, of 18 January)

The high school was located, in 1913, in the Quinta dos Sacais, on the new Avenida Camilo, which would connect Campo 24 de Agosto with the Rua de S. Roque da Lameira, thereby redesigning the citys eastern exit.
In 1914 Marques da Silva made several proposals for the high school project, starting with a solution with four courtyards next to a “block”, followed by his academic proposal of 1907 for «A High School», to a «U» shaped solution, exploring an opening to the south of the courtyards and emphasising a connection with the urban context represented by the Avenue to the north.
The programme, consisting of administration, museum, laboratories, amphitheatres, classrooms and gymnasium, was organised through the characterisation and ranking of the four interior courtyards, allowing for the resolution of functional issues and also issues of light, ventilation and spatial hygiene.
Work began in 1916 with the construction of the administration section, in classical form, and concluded in 1931 with the gymnasium and swimming pool, where Marques da Silva exploited the potential of reinforced concrete.

Rodrigues de Freitas High School (D. Manuel II)

 Eureka Project, Ground Floor Plan, 1918

Plans and principal elevation of the Rodrigues de Freitas High School building, 1926

Start of project 1918
Date of commencement of work 1927
Opening date 1932

In 1918, with the Alexandre Herculano High School project already under construction, Marques da Silva took part in an open tender for a 1000-student programme, with no set location or dimensions, and his Eureka project emerged as the winner, leaving Francisco Soares Parente in second place.
At first, a site in the Rua da Carcereira (now known as Pedro Hispano Street), not far from the modern Boavista Square, was considered for the high school, but the final choice was land adjacent to the Cedofeita Church, in the Rua da Paz (Peace Street).
After a few attempts to insert the Eureka project into the new site, Marques da Silva developed, in 1926, another typological solution with three small courtyards and a large playground, connected to the gymnasium, making a synthesis of the pedagogical and architectural concerns of the high school programme. Work began in 1927 and concluded in 1932, which enabled Marques da Silva to update the building methods used, as well as the formal choices. Thus the urban environment of the high school was redesigned through its Art Deco facade and a new semicircular open space, Pedro Nunes Square, which links the building with the Rua da Boavista and with the girls high school.

Final Note

Under the Parque Escolar (School Park) Programme, launched by the Ministry of Education in 2007, both high schools are taking part in a modernisation project, with a design for Alexandre Herculano High School by the architects Alexandre Alves Costa and Sergio Fernandez, and a redevelopment for Rodrigues de Freitas High School by the architects Manuel Fernandes de Sá and Mário Trindade, which will integrate the Porto Conservatoire into the west wing of the building, constructing a new auditorium.
 

Gonçalo Canto Moniz
Department of Architecture, FCTUC
Fellow, FCT
 

(translated by Gill Stoker)

Bibliography:
CARDOSO, António, O Arquitecto José Marques da Silva e a Arquitectura no Norte do País na primeira metade do século XX, Porto, Faup-publicações, 1997.
COSTA, Alexandre Alves, O Liceu Alexandre Herculano, no Porto. História, projecto e transformação, Porto, FIMS, no prelo.
MONIZ, Gonçalo Canto, Arquitectura e Instrução, O projecto moderno do liceu, 1836-1936, Coimbra, e|d|arq, 2007.
MONIZ, Gonçalo Canto, “A Cidade dos Equipamentos de Ensino”, in Leituras de Marques da Silva, Porto, FIMS, no prelo.
PROVIDÊNCIA, Paulo, “Liceus da República”, in Porto 1901/2001 - Guia da Arquitectura Moderna, Porto, Civilização e Porto 2001, 2001.

 
Location of the Alexandre Herculano High School
Porto, Avenida Camilo
Google Map

Location of the Rodrigues de Freitas High School
Porto, Praça Pedro Nunes
Google Map