The Ocean Swimming Pool was designed by the Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza (Pritzker Prize, 1992) between 1960 and 1966 (with later additions until 1973) for the seaside town of Leça da Palmeira, in the north Porto, Portugal. In this early work, Siza adopted an expressively modern technology and abstract neoplastic language, building a succession of walls in reinforced concrete over the seaside rocks, which were harmoniously integrated within the interior timber structure of the changing rooms. This work has been considered a masterpiece because of its modernity and organic integration into the existing landscape. The building is currently listed as a National Monument (since 2011) and is included in the “Ensemble of Álvaro Siza’s Architectural Works” in the Tentative List for World Heritage (2017). Also, the building has been in full use for almost sixty years, becoming a social and cultural landmark for the local communities, playing an essential role in its identity and collective memory. 

However, this building has been at risk for many years because of its maritime location has aggravated the decay of its concrete structures, triggering the corrosion and spalling of its steel reinforcements. Also, the obsolescence of the building’s infrastructures and the need to adapt to new legal and functional standards, have determined the need for a comprehensive intervention in the building in 2018.

Under the Keeping It Modern Grant, inspection and diagnosis were carried during the construction site, through a set of in-situ non-destructive and minor destructive tests and laboratory tests of samples extracted from the structure (concrete, cement paste, steel rebars and timber). These tests have contributed for the localized repair of the exposed concrete in recent intervention - as defined by Álvaro Siza - applying innovative techniques of integration between the existing and the new repair mortars (color and texture tuning, formworks, among others).

To support the development of the Conservation Management Plan, several participation and dissemination strategies were implemented, specifically a documentary film, an exhibition, a Sharing Memories webinar with renowned authors, interviews with key actors involved in the construction, surveys of local communities, guided visits, activities with children and the establishing of ‘Siza’s Design Principles’ for the Ocean Swimming Pool.

This background provided for the definition of a set of conservation and management policies– i) overarching policies, ii) planning and landscape, iii) risk assessment and climate change adaptation, iv) interpretation and communication, v) conservation, maintenance and usage (including the user manuals and maintenance plan under ).In this way, this Conservation Management Plan sets out the means to ensure the  appropriate management of change of this landmark’s architecture, which remains in constant use by local communities, while mitigating threats and vulnerabilities and preserving its cultural significance for future generations.