The UNOR 40 plan (1971-1972) by Hestnes Ferreira: As a more structured expansion proposal for a planning unit in Lisbon

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present the work of Hestnes Ferreira and his team, namely for the UNOR 40 planning unit in Lisbon, as a study case of an infrastructural enhancement in Mainland Portugal during the early 1970s. The UNOR design teams were recruited outside the municipal staff. For UNOR40 the team was coordinated by Raúl Hestnes Ferreira and included architects Rodrigo Rau and Vicente Bravo, landscape architect Gonçalo Ribeiro Teles, and urban geographer, Jorge Gaspar. These oversaw the planning of a large area between Campo Grande and Benfica, using a traffic study developed by French consultants. The main results of the UNOR 40 Plan were to redefine the layout of the North-South Hub, Combatentes and Lusíada Avenues, as a way of ordering the urban network of this sector, including the urban access to Telheiras. The plan also comprised the creation of an institutional square, based on a program that included museums, institutes, office buildings, and a church. However, the applicability of the UNOR 40 Plan was practically nil, with the exception of the layout of some road links.