Dating back to the 15th century, the former Casa da Câmara (town hall) built in the mid 1450s, is considered to be the first town hall, where until the late 17th century the so-called good men, or representatives of the city’s 24 guilds, met in assembly. 

In 1875, the building was completely destroyed by fire and was only rebuilt in 2002, with a contemporary recreation of the lost medieval tower, designed by the architect Fernando Távora. In concrete and granite, the new tower gained its original volume and dimension, enveloped part of the ruins and gave rise to a large glass wall that connects that iconic building to the city. Part of the ruins, next to the old wall in the Terreiro da Sé, were left uncovered. It is a symbolic elevation, that rises above the city and the river, a monument that embodies an impossibility – ensuring the presence of the past in the Contemporary era, a place that is evocative of an idea of order and stability in an urban space that is constantly changing. 

In 2019, the Casa dos 24 was integrated into the new structure of the Porto City Museum, forming part of the material axis, which begins at the Reservoir, in the western zone of the city and extends to Freixo, with the Industry Extension, in the eastern zone. With the Archeo-site, a neighbouring structure, it establishes a discursive connection that will be embodied in a constant flow of production of knowledge and narratives. 

Within the framework of the Porto City Museum’s artistic project, devoid of objects, the Casa dos 24 will recover its status as a monument. As a privileged promontory overlooking the city, the Casa dos 24 will operate as a resonance box, which merges and delves into a reverse space, half-stone/half-air – a watchful probe, an instrument for capturing and radiating sound from the city. This will be the place of a sound activation and intervention programme, designed in collaboration with groups of musicians and sound artists operating in the city, and others from other places. 

Magnetic field of relations, a constellation is drawn from this tower, that inherits and confronts the secular and religious powers. The power of words of all times is articulated around the neighbouring Cathedral, in the streets between the Casa dos 24 and the Archeo-site.  As a place of passage, the Archeo-site inverts and transfigures its logics to materialise new readings and ideas about the city. 

Images—Atlas: António Alves e Fernando Noronha (Porto City Museum) and Filipa Brito (Porto City Council).

Address

Rua de São Sebastião, s/n 4000-013 Porto
GPS: 41.143039, -8.611626

Bus

30, 500, 600
Train: São Bento - L. Braga, L. Guimarães, L. Marco

Subway

São Bento

Parking

Praça de Lisboa; Palácio da Justiça; Ribeira, Cardosas

Axis

MATERIAL

SONIC