The University City as an Architecture of Power

The Estado Novo succeeded a military dictatorship established in 1926. This regime was in force in Portugal between 1933 and 1974, constituting the longest dictatorship in Western Europe.

The control that the Estado Novo exercised over the university - in the scientific, educational and administrative fields - was also to become visible in the organisation of the space itself. It created its version of the "university city". Located in the Upper Town of Coimbra, it brought together the whole student community, kept away all non-academic functions, seeking to avoid dispersion and influences that might threaten the training and education idealised by the regime.

Architect Cottinelli Telmo designed the general plan for the university city and the management of the whole process was entrusted to engineer Manuel de Sá e Melo. This duo had already given proof of their working capacity in the preparation of the Portuguese World Exhibition, in Lisbon, in 1940. The scenic nature of this exhibition, to which Cottinelli's experience as a filmmaker contributed, was evident in the university city. His plan envisaged the creation, from scratch, of the monumental complex that surrounds us. We just need to notice the vast perspectives, the symmetry and straightness in the design of the urban space, the scale of the buildings in a classical and pristine style. To this overall design, a monumental staircase was added to access the square, highlighting how difficult it was physically and symbolically to access the university. These are characteristics of the architecture of power, which we find in various types of political regimes, but which the dictatorships of the time cultivated with particular gusto.