Paying attention to society, to its needs more than its expectations —that was the challenge facing the SAAL (Serviço de Apoio Ambulatório Local / travelling local support service), a “revolutionary” programme developed between 1974 and 1976 in Portugal. 169 interventions were conducted throughout the country, offering a comfortable home to some 42,000 families. 45 years later, the initiative continues to command admiration.
Participation. Overused, the word can now refer to any type of urban operation. It covers a stage that has become a crucial prerequisite for any project. It generally spans a rather short time during which everyone spends more time blowing off steam than revealing their true expectations. Now that the reflex has become so Pavlovian, it has lost its nature, its very interest, and the ‘participatory’ initiatives would appear to result in consensual plans that are a crashing bore at best. Although the news still offer precious little objectivity regarding the result of such citizen involvement, History yields its lot of telling experiences. In Portugal, the SAAL programme, created on 6 August 1974 in the aftermath of the Carnation Revolution at the initiative of Nuno Portas, architect, teacher and critic, then Secretary of the Department of Urban Planning and Housing, was regularly examined, including by L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui. Indeed, this architectural and political experience responds with a pioneering spirit. Designed to overcome the housing shortage, this ‘service’ constantly sought resources for tackling the poor living conditions in many Portuguese cities. “This is a revolutionary process intended to re-examine the question of architectural production. The vision was to create with people or, more specifically, based on their true desires,” explains Dominique Machabert, independent journalist, writer, aficionado of the Portuguese language and teacher at the École nationale supérieure d’architecture in Clermont-Ferrand.

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In October 1980, L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui dedicated its issue no211 to Alvaro Siza. Rediscover his interview by clicking the image below.

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This article was featured in AA’s 432nd issue – Heritage and Innovation – available in our online store..