Typological structural features of a stucco ceiling from the early 20th century: São Bento train station in Porto (Portugal)

Abstract

Stucco was an art considered, for many years, as a “minor art”. According to Cotrim (Cotrim, 2004), the depreciation of this decorative art resulted in the reduced number of works produced, influencing the state of degradation in which the plastered elements in old buildings are found. Still according to the same author, not long ago, adaptations of old buildings were made to accommodate offices that, for reasons of “modernization”, could not boast old decorations, so that these ceilings were hidden or, in many cases, simply destroyed. “The execution of plastered elements, following traditional techniques, constituted an artistic branch of the construction industry, whose loss of information currently makes pathological diagnosis and the choice of conservation or repair solutions difficult”. (Silveira, Veiga & Brito, 2001, p. 2)

This communication aims to present the case study of the atrium ceiling at the entrance of the São Bento train station in Porto, Portugal. Built during the end of the 19th century and opened in the beginning of the 20th century, when the value of stucco was already in decline. However, in this case, fortunately, what we find is not a technique that shows signs of depreciation, quite the contrary, the building in particular was built mixing new techniques and materials characteristic of the new century with the traditional techniques and materials of the production of the previous century , combining wood and iron, composing a mixed structure.

The investigation seeks to understand and present the constructive solutions of this ceiling, with unique characteristics, in order to disseminate them and encourage the appreciation and preservation of stuccoes and their old structures. This study is essential to understand the evolution of the structural system of stucco ceilings from the 19th to the 20th century. (Kings, 2021).

Thus, it is expected that the present work will contribute to the deepening of knowledge about these structures, of which we still lack information to properly come to preserve them, reaffirming their relevance in academic discussions. This study is part of an ongoing doctoral project at the Catholic University of Porto. Escola das Artes and CITAR, entitled Structural Typologies of Portuguese Stucco Ceilings from the 17th to the 20th Centuries. 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56238/devopinterscie-167