Augusto Ivan de Freitas Pinheiro and Eliane Canedo
Research and contributions: Cristiane Titoneli
Treasure to be preserved
According to Pinheiro and Rabha,45 this region was to move into a new cycle from the mid-1980s onwards, featuring parallel pictures of its cultural and historical wealth contrasting with its material decay. Swathed in a certain amount of romanticism and driven by progressive ideas or cultural ideals,46 the Docklands returned to the city’s imaginary showcase during the early XX century, with speculation rife about its future: “I still don’t understand why we aren’t fighting for the privilege of living in these streets lined with townhouses, rather than restaurants charmingly (...) making good use of the dignity and serenity that still linger from those days, the high ceilings, the large sitting rooms, the blue-tiled eaves, and the tilework façades.” 47
Ideas and discussions were buoyed mainly by private institutions such as the Rio de Janeiro Commercial Association and public entities like the Municipal General Coordination and Planning Bureau, the Municipal Culture Institute, and the National Artistic and Historical Heritage Institute (IPHAN). Added to these were initiatives rooted in the academic world presented by universities and organizations linked to urban planning and architecture studies. Although still timid, initiatives also arose among local communities, such as the residents of the Conceição and Providência hills.
The ‘discovery’ of the charms of the Morro da Conceição, a resilient cluster of hillside homes in the heart of the city, helped establish a positive image for this area with its rows of small townhouses lining streets with picturesque and appealing names recalling long-ago games, people, and places: Rua do Jogo da Bola, Ladeira João Homem, Ladeira do Escorrega, Travessa do Sereno, Largo São Francisco da Prainha and Pedra do Sal.
The enchanting atmosphere of the compact Saúde district attracted the media and seduced the people of Rio, who soon began to spend more time here. However, this attraction produced no long-lasting effects, and the area soon drifted back into ostracism.
In this context, the introduction of the Projeto SaGaS preservation project is particularly noteworthy for the Saúde, Gamboa, and Santo Cristo neighborhoods, focused on preserving 1,838 properties in these old Docklands districts. Underpinning this initiative are efforts by IPHAN to preserve countless listed heritage assets on the Morro da Conceição hill and its surroundings.48
A highlight is the listing of the Moinho Fluminense mill building,49 based on a technical report by IPHAN that underscored the architectural value of its façade, and wrought iron skyways, as well as lovely bas reliefs featuring volutes and winged dragons.
These steps may be viewed as an institutional steppingstone towards the start of the changes that were to bring the Docklands into sharp focus for attention under the emerging public policy on preserving historic areas in Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. This was the epicenter of structural transformations sweeping through the old Docklands in the early XXI century, ushering in new and far-reaching interventions.
On August 25, 1987, the Moinho Fluminense mill celebrated the centennial of its establishment. To celebrate this date the company restored the façades of the mill and the passageways linking the buildings, listed a year previously as part of the Cultural Heritage of Rio de Janeiro. It also decided to adopt the Praça Coronel Assunção plaza (still widely known as the Praça da Harmonia), with historic importance for the Saúde district since the XVII century. A busy commercial area, it was the embryo of the Rio Docklands, when the waters of the bay still lapped at the slope of the hill. With its original design lost over time, hidden under layers of manufacturing activities and port expansions, its adoption by the Moinho Fluminense mill absorbed investments of US$ 120,000 for restoration interventions. (...). This project encompassed a commitment to rebuild the bandstand, replant the gardens, and add benches and lighting, together with its conservation, maintenance and cleaning, once work was completed. One of the largest urban complexes in the city of Rio de Janeiro, this renovated plaza was inaugurated on June 1, 1988 – the first time that a public area had been restored and conserved by private enterprise, according to newspapers of the time that headlined this event.50
In February 2001, the Instituto Pereira Passos, a research institute linked to the Municipal Town Planning Bureau at City Hall, launched a set of studies designed to buttress a Restructuring and Revitalization Plan for the Docklands Region – Port of Rio.51
Among other goals, the proposals set forth in this Plan aimed at breaking through the long-standing inertia that was fettering development in this area, adapting land use and occupancy regulations to a new activities profile, as almost all dock work had shifted to new port facilities in Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere in Brazil. Among its guidelines, this Plan stressed the special importance of interlinking the Docklands neighborhoods among themselves, and connecting them to the rest of the city; showcasing the value of its cultural heritage; stepping up its population density through new residential and commercial activities; encouragement for repurposing of old buildings (particularly the warehouses); modernizing its infrastructure; and restoring public areas.
Although this Plan was never put into practice, it paved the way for the subsequent Docklands upgrade initiative, known as the Porto Maravilha Plan.
