In Portugal, the first human settlements in coastal areas were initially foundered in appropriate physiographic, climate and soil conditions, expressed by a traditional exploitation of the sea and complemented by an integrative use of the land. However, from the beginning of the 20th century, this integrative economic system was gradually replaced by a method of exploitation beyond to the local support. As a result, the new urban occupation model was incompatible with the natural transformation of the landscape.
Since then, due to the change in the cultural values system, in order to preserve the natural resources, it was created territorial management tools with an interpretation of landscape that doesn’t have into account the role of local communities to keep its ecosystems alive, by which has been lost the “sense of place”.
Based on an architectural knowledge, the “place” results from an identity human approach of the space, which is both a physical and a phenomenological process, according to an evolutionary cultural recognition. In this context, the architectural work is the simultaneous condition and evidence of this cultural recognition.
Through an interpretative system of landscape, which takes into account its architectural sense of place, the present investigation aims to develop an analysis and diagnosis model to identify its main different operating structures, as well as the impacts of the recent urban occupation in coastal areas, according to the multiple and conceptualized needs of the local communities. According to a hypothetical-deductive method and based on a mix non-interventionist methodology focused in the study case of Ria Formosa Natural Park, located in eastern Algarve’s coastal area, we aim to contribute to an integrative understanding of this landscape.
The final result will be explained in an alternative tool to understand in an integrative way the evolution of the Ria Formosa landscape, according to a diagrammatic and cartographic easy representation. 

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Note: This project is funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) since 2015 with the identification reference SFRH/BD/ 101725/2014.

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Keywords: Architectural Place, Coastal Areas, Interpretative System, Landscape, Ria Formosa 

Ricardo Ribeiro

Ricardo Ribeiro is a Master’s Degree Landscape Architect since 2010 and he’s developing its own PhD research project in Architecture at the Faculty of Architecture – University of Lisbon (FA-ULisboa) since 2015.
He was a research member of the Research Centre for Landscape Architecture “Prof. Caldeira Cabral” (CEAP) between 2009 and 2011, and now is a permanent member of the Sustenta – Laboratory for Sustainable Design at the Research Centre for Architecture, Urban Planning and Design (CIAUD) since 2012, where has been participating in research projects about “Potential Land-Use Ecological Plan”, “Sea Architectures” and “National Ecological Network”.
He’s also an assistant of curricular units “Coastal Areas Requalification”, “Urban Requalification” and “Landscape and Heritage” at FA-ULisboa since 2012.
Recently, he’s an editor member of the Handbook of Research on Methods and Tools for Assessing Cultural Landscape Adaptation, which will be published by IGI Global Editor in 2018.