Photography and Vernacular Architecture: the Portuguese Approach

At least, from the 1880s, it is possible to identify the presence of popular architecture in surveys, which were formally or informally held in Portugal. However, the most significant survey was the Survey on Portuguese Regional Architecture carried out by the Portuguese Architects’ Union in the second half of the 1950s. This work, published in 1961, used mainly photography as a source of registration of the rural dwellings during the fieldwork. A photography made by architects who have shaped in this work a gaze and an insight that has become decisive in the subsequent architectural production. This work deals with the Survey as photographic record and way to look at vernacular architecture.This work was co-funded with FEDER funds by the Operational Competitiveness Programme – COMPETE and national funds by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the project Photography, Modern Architecture and the “School of Oporto”: Interpretations Around Teófilo Rego Archive (PTDC/ ATP-AQI/4805/2012 - FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-028054