Local NGO disagrees with IC on Guia Hill building

The Concern Group for the Protection of the Guia Lighthouse has issued a statement condemning the latest decision on the building project located at Calçada do Gaio.

The group suggested that “the best solution should be to reduce the height of the building to 52.5 meters.”

As reported yesterday, IC officials said that the current height proposed by the developer doesn’t have a “foundational impact” on the heritage-listed Guia Lighthouse.

After years of debate, the builder agreed to lower the height to 81 meters and reduce the number of floors from 36 to 19. The builder has also agreed to eliminate unnecessary structures on the rooftop so as to further reduce the height of the building. 

The IC also recommended that the peripheral structures – originally concrete – be replaced by transparent glass panels and silver aluminum panels so as to achieve “refined design.” It was also proposed that the curved design of the façade be replaced by “down-to-earth” straight lines to further simplify visual impact, fitting UNESCO’s requirements.

However, the Concern Group for the Protection of the Guia Lighthouse responded that they “don’t see how the present design can fulfill UNESCO’s directives such as that ‘the design of the upper floors of this building be revised to be more transparent and less bulky to lessen their visual impact.’” 

The group suggested that demolishing the upper floors would be the best solution. Otherwise, the area of each upper floor should be reduced. Staff reporter