The housing problem

What was the SAAL (Local Ambulatory Support Service)? Is it true that the inhabitants took part in the construction of these houses? What about the architects? Are there SAAL neighbourhoods in Lisbon today? How did this process come about? What do the people involved in this episode of history think today? How can we interpret all this? Can this experience help us formulate a paradigm for living that contributes to more egalitarian and happier ways of life?

Combining participant ethnography, historical research, the dissemination of architecture, a radical philosophy, and departing from the experience of the SAAL neighbourhoods of Lisbon, the cycle The Housing Problem seeks to investigate and problematise the transformations the city has undergone from April 1974 to the present day.

Comprising one conference, one talk and four walking tours, the cycle sets out to investigate what currently exists in the city and what had been planned for the SAAL neighbourhoods of Quinta do Alto, Curraleira-Embrechados, Fonsecas-Calçada and Bela Flor.

Curators: Ana Bigotte Vieira, Ana Catarina Costa and Ricardo Santos.