ALVALADE: once modern never old (but age-friendly)

Abstract

Portugal, namely, Lisbon had in the middle of the 20^th century a young and growing population for which new and modernist housing solutions were designed, turning the new Alvalade district into a modernist laboratory. But time passed by and half a century later, at the dawn of the new millennium, Alvalade was already a NORC (Naturally Occurring Retirement Community): its initial population had aged in place (Pastalan, 1990), making it a modernist environment now inhabited by older people who were no longer the stylish MOD inhabitants envisioned by modernist architects in the 50’s. This is the main issue we will address in this article: how to reuse and adapt this modernist global environment (public spaces, buildings, and interiors), respecting its high-quality design standards and yet turning it into an age-friendly community as a case study for wider dissemination.