The building selected for exploration and development in this paper is the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences Institute Abel Salazar (ICBAS-FFUP complex), of the University of Porto, located on Rua D. Manuel II, next to the Crystal Palace. This project was conceived by architect José Manuel Soares, former FAUP professor.
It is visible in this project a use of the pre-existence, the military barracks, for the construction of three new buildings for classrooms and laboratories, as well as the rehabilitation of the historical building with a façade to the Rua D. Manuel II for administrative services. In addition, the proximity of the project to the Santo António Hospital allows the creation of a pole of excellence in Life and Health Sciences in the center of the city of Porto.
For the development of this work, the author chosen by the group was Thomas Struth, admired for his timelessness and depth of vision, an intention that we try to reproduce in this work. Like a part of his work, our photographs are taken outdoors, therefore using natural light to enhance the calm and harmonious environment of the chosen space.
Immutability and power in communication were the most admired aspects in Thomas Struth's work. The empty spaces, devoid of movement and people certainly made an impact when we analyzed his work, and for this reason we have tried to reproduce this idea. Due to the situation currently experienced, it becomes possible to make an analogy to his photographs, by the lack of Man in the picture, but still a sense of humanity and memory, a lack of human expression that we all feel.
One of the solutions taken to reinforce our intention is the idea of a path, something that, by making the spaces of the college and all its development known to those who look at the building for the first time, conveys a whole, showing the panorama, and also the proximity of certain moments or environments.
The rhythm of the facades, very prominent in the photograph, in harmony with the depth of the visual field, transmit a logic of repetition, the whole, interspersed with small details that bring us closer to the object.
One of the photographs in this work, which frames two chairs on one of the balconies of the building, refers to living in that space, showing us the impact of man on that environment. Although one feels this, the presence of Man physically in the place does not become indispensable to understand the space. In this way, a certain antagonistic relationship is created, submitting us to the human essence in counterpoint with the lack of it, through an anamnesis.