Implementation of the National Policy on Architecture and Landscape
Portugal's public policy on architecture and landscape was approved by the Council of Ministers on June 4, 2015. From the outset, the Serra Henriques Foundation accepted the challenge of the Order of Architects, the Directorate-General for the Territory and the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage to integrate the set of partners for the implementation of this essential tool for the development of the territory and enhancement of cultural heritage.
Architecture and landscape are part of the daily life of the Portuguese, determining to a large extent the quality of their lives, environmental, economic, social and cultural sustainability, and the promotion of territorial competitiveness. Architecture and landscape are expressions of collective identity, history and culture, with a particular impact on education, social inclusion and citizen participation, and strong implications for the country's development. Because of its relevance, the implementation of a public policy on architecture and landscape is a design of Portugal.
The areas of the PNAP are resources of culture and citizenship and correspond to two distinct disciplinary areas that must complement each other in a balanced territorial intervention, within the framework of spatial planning and urbanism, capable of promoting the built heritage and the identity of places.
Citizenship Education
To sensitize the new generations to the understanding of social and urban challenges, of the territory and of the built environment, enhancing the development of skills, critical sense, autonomy and knowledge, as a way of contributing to the formation of citizens aware of their role in society.
Education is a statutory pillar of the Serra Henriques Foundation. It is a commitment to Transformative Schools to foster a systemic change in education for training and citizenship, reinforcing the role of civil society organizations in public policies and in the promotion of a more involved community.
The Serra Henriques Foundation, as a partner in the implementation of the National Policy for Architecture and Landscape (PNAP), collaborates with the Padre António Vieira Secondary School and the School of the Masters of Recurrent Education (EM) to study the integration of these themes in school curricula and stimulate a culture of citizenship.
The PNAP was approved by the Council of Ministers in 2015 within the scope of spatial planning policies, to promote architectural and urban design in a built environment with quality and local identity, preserve the improvement of the quality of the built heritage and make a creative management and share exemplary policies of public constructions. The diploma provides for the development of specific programs for the implementation of the PNAP, which the Serra Henriques Foundation has developed in cooperation with the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage, the Directorate-General for the Territory, the Order of Architects and the Portuguese Association of Landscape Architects.
The aim of this project is to raise awareness among students of the importance of the landscape and the built heritage in people's quality of life, recognizing the value of the spaces where we live and preparing them for the challenges that are faced by the territory, in an attitude of active participation.
It is intended, above all, to develop skills with a methodology that can promote in students the use of creativity in solving problems presented in class and stimulate school success and collaborative work, the increase of self-esteem and critical thinking.
Urban Planning and Spatial Planning
Within the scope of city policies and territorial planning, the Serra Henriques Foundation develops programmed initiatives in partnership with academics, experts and public entities that aim at a better understanding of the complexity of land management and depopulation, local development opportunities and urban dynamics.
Thinking about city architecture and sustainable urban development must simultaneously respect different dimensions: social reality, economic dynamics and cultural identity. It is therefore necessary for cities to be designed and planned according to a development model also based on principles of cooperation and partnership between different levels and organisations.
In this approach and context, the Serra Henriques Foundation seeks to develop initiatives that stimulate cooperation, inter-municipal dynamics, the discussion of shared and structural problems and the implementation of projects of common interest.