The Scale and Space Available

Due to the symbolic importance of the Paço das Escolas, the construction of new facilities outside the Upper Town was never considered. However, the scale of the project clashed from the outset with the lack of available space. Therefore, the realisation of the project involved extensive demolition and earthworks. The memory of the destruction is still visible from Praça D. Dinis, in the removal of the last arch of D. Sebastião Aqueduct. More than 200 buildings were demolished, extinguishing a vibrant residential and commercial area. This traumatic process deeply affected the relationship between the university and the city. The displaced people had to be transferred to new housing quarters, built for that purpose in the outskirts of the city.

The few buildings that were preserved were reduced in scale. Some were intentionally spared, like Colégio de S. Bento, next to the Aqueduct. Others survived because the execution of the project dragged on, coinciding with a time of major opposition to the regime. This is the case of the Colégio de S. Jerónimo and Colégio das Artes, north of the square, where it was planned to build a hospital.