Joana Rafael is an architect practitioner and Postdoctoral Researcher, specializing in ecological concerns related to pollution and contamination, both indoors and in urban planning. Her research explores the intersections of architecture and urbanism with human geography, environmental studies, and power dynamics, encompassing contemporary culture, media studies, art, and technology. She investigates the materiality and limits of physical infrastructures in relation to Earth's systems and the reciprocal relationships between humans and nature, with a particular focus on radiologically contaminated environments. Joana has taught Contextual Studies and Contemporary Culture-related courses at institutions including ESAP in Porto, ISCE Douro in Penafiel, Central Saint Martins in London, and the University for the Creative Arts in Canterbury. She is a member of CEGOT (Center for Studies in Geography and Spatial Planning) and CEAA (Centro de Estudos Arnaldo Araújo), and a co-founder of REFINERY BOARD. Joana holds a Master of Architecture and Urban Cultures from Metropolis, Barcelona, as well as a Master of Research Architecture and a PhD in Visual Cultures from Goldsmiths, University of London. She also earned a Healthier Materials and Sustainable Building Specialization certificate from Parsons School of Design, The New School. In addition to her academic pursuits, Joana is a certified farmer.
Condominium Gondarém 1982
The publication opens with an analysis of the Condomínio Gondarém building—designed in 1982 in Foz do Porto by João Guimarães Serôdio—offering a critical revisitation of an architect whose understated presence in historiography contrasts with the enduring impact of his work on Porto’s urban fabric and daily life. Focusing on this housing project, the book uses it as a lens to examine the city’s transformation during the 1980s, a period of profound urban, social, and architectural change. Through essays and archival materials, the publication investigates collective housing, everyday life, and the broader processes of urban transition.
The book brings together critical essays, including a text by Pedro Serôdio—the architect's grandson—which introduces a personal and intergenerational dimension, and photographs by Giovanna Silva, which offer a reading that is both documentary and authorial of the work.
Published by Pierrot le Fou
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