Reflection on Canons of Sustainable Architecture in Valuation of Nautical Tourism in Portugal

This study intends to give a theoretical perspective on the work done as part of the post-doctoral project in architecture, with a focus on the junction of sustainability and architecture in support of the valorisation of sport and nautical tourism in Portugal. Research item “Reflection on the Influence of Sustainable Architecture Canons on the Valorisation of Nautical Tourism in Portugal – Case Study of the Mondego River Estuary – Figueira da Foz” – 2021, Faculty of Architecture, University of Lisbon. The Mondego River estuary presents privileged conditions for the practice and development of nautical activities associated with recreation and sport, an aspect that is all the more relevant when this estuary occupies a privileged central position in the national maritime context. Experiencing the sea and the river from a perspective of leisure and recreational boating associated with the enjoyment of superior quality sports facilities is one of the concerns of the people of Figueira da Foz. The mouth of the Mondego River is surrounded by the city of Figueira da Foz and holds a territory of exceptional maritime public domain for the practice of nautical and sporting activities. In this context, the premise of this study in architecture was to combine the vectors of sustainable architecture in the valorisation of tourism and water sports in Portugal, particularly in the estuary of the Mondego River, located in the city of Figueira da Foz. Nautical tourism is an increasingly popular type of alternative tourism that is defined as active holidays in contact with the water, through activities such as sailing on sailing boats or yachts, as well as other recreational and recreational activities. Sports that involve the enjoyment of nature. Portugal has a unique climate in Europe for activities linked to the sea, with 2800 km of coastline, rivers and dams. The present work is expected to contribute to raising awareness of the benefits of the tourism and water sports sector in Portugal, in particular with regard to the implementation of new sports spaces and equipment, differentiating, innovative, sustainable, environmentally friendly and which above all everything fulfils the purpose for which they were designed. The study is structured in a sequential manner called chapters with the purpose of achieving the stated objective, consisting of eight distinct chapters, respectively: Chapter 1 (navigation approaches to new spaces and times); Chapter 2 (Sustainability combined with the canons of architecture), Chapter 3 (materials and sustainability); Chapter 4 (canons of sustainable architecture in the current context); Chapter 5 (site geometry); Chapter 6 (specificities of recreational boating combined with sustainability); Chapter 7 (benchmarking, ordering and planning strategies); Chapter 8 (final reflection), (Fortin, 1999). The work carried out has as its target audience a wide range of readers who are in some way connected with the areas of sports management and architecture, with the main focus on the intersection of the aspect of sustainability combined with architecture in favour of the valorisation of sport and of nautical tourism in Portugal.