Retai­ning wall

The Laje Foot­ball Field (Campo de futebol da Lage) trans­forms a steep slope in Porto Salvo (Portugal) into a unique sports field through a striking act of topo­gra­phical precision. The inter­ven­tion is defined by an L‑shaped retai­ning wall made of pigmented concrete, which both stabi­lizes the terrain and shapes the project’s enormous archi­tec­tural iden­tity.

The geometry of the wall encloses the pitch and forms a covered arcade that accom­mo­dates the soccer faci­li­ties below.

The design was created by Miguel Marce­lino.

Ramp

A ramp cuts into the hill and leads athletes and spec­ta­tors to a covered atrium that opens onto the playing field. This sequence of descent creates a deli­be­rate rela­ti­onship between move­ment and enclo­sure, in which the archi­tec­ture simul­ta­neously embeds itself in the surroun­dings and opens up to them.

The conti­nuous bench seating at the edge of the pitch elimi­nates any hier­archy among the spec­ta­tors, empha­si­zing equa­lity and proxi­mity in the viewing expe­ri­ence. Above this, the newly formed upper plateau func­tions as an informal terrace (or upper tier) that extends the public space and offers fanta­stic pano­r­amic views of the pitch and the land­scape.

Concrete

Set against the rugged topo­graphy of Porto Salvo, the Campo de futebol da Lage is carved directly into the land­scape. Instead of impo­sing a foreign object on the site, the project emerges from the hillside itself.

The L‑shaped retai­ning wall is both a struc­tural neces­sity and an archi­tec­tural state­ment. The wall is made of iron oxide pigmented rein­forced concrete, with the color and texture of the concrete reflec­ting the rocky ground – and blen­ding with the natural layers of the terrain.

Merger

By merging archi­tec­ture, engi­nee­ring and land­scape design, Miguel Marce­lino reduces the Laje Foot­ball Field to its essen­tial elements: earth, concrete and geometry. The project is less an object than an adapt­a­tion of the terrain, where form and func­tion emerge natu­rally from the physical condi­tions of the site. The result is a public space that recon­ciles struc­tural precision with ecolo­gical harmony and inte­grates contem­po­rary design into the endu­ring character of the Portu­guese land­scape.

And how.

The focus of the inter­ven­tion was the sensi­tive reha­bi­li­ta­tion of the grand­stand, whose strictly symme­trical façade design and rhyth­mi­cally arranged columns are a typical example of post-war moder­nism. The portico-like main entrance, which leads visi­tors into the stadium through a loggia, and the bas-reliefs carved in granite with motifs from clas­sical mytho­logy were carefully preserved and restored.

At the same time, the inner struc­ture was comple­tely rede­si­gned: New func­tional areas for athletes and visi­tors were created, entrances were moder­nized and the grand­stand roof was rede­si­gned to signi­fi­cantly increase the covered area – a noti­ceable gain in comfort.

Along the longi­tu­dinal axis of the grand­stand, two new buil­dings now complete the Univer­sity Stadium Porto complex. They house the new head­quar­ters of the CDUP (Centro de Desporto da Univer­si­dade do Porto) and offer versa­tile spaces such as offices, meeting rooms and work areas for students and staff.

While the new buil­dings refer to the monu­mental austerity of the exis­ting grand­stand in terms of scale and struc­ture, they inter­pret its compo­si­tional rules quite dyna­mi­cally, for example through large openings towards the sports fields.

The choice of mate­rial plays a central role. Terra­cotta-colored pigmented concrete was used for all new volumes, as well as for parts of the exis­ting buil­ding to be reno­vated. This warm, earthy tone enli­vens the buil­ding enve­lope and extends into the inte­rior spaces on the first floor.

The mate­rial gives the ensemble a clear iden­tity, creates a subtle contrast to the sober grand­stand and blends harmo­niously into the tree-lined context.

With the reno­va­tion and refur­bish­ment, the Univer­sity Stadium reopens as a multi­func­tional, open campus area that combines sporting acti­vi­ties, student meetings and admi­nis­tra­tive func­tions. The historic entrances for spec­ta­tors via the stair­cases have been retained, while athletes and staff enter through newly desi­gned entrances. This respects the original character while ensu­ring contem­po­rary user-friend­li­ness.

After a long plan­ning and cons­truc­tion process – inter­rupted by the COVID-19 pandemic – the stadium is now fully opera­tional again and serves as a fine example of how modern archi­tec­ture can be harmo­nized with histo­rical subs­tance.