Porto Market: How Paulhao’s renewal has become a real success
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We are in the center of Porto, in the Boho Market. Buyers know that here they will find new products from the area in positions with friendly and cheerful store owners.
The structure has been renewed from institutions: today the market is modern and practical, but it maintains the architectural beauty that attracts tourists from everywhere.
Every day about 20,000 people visit it, in fact it is called the city’s heart.
Roy Moreira is the mayor of Porto. He always knew the market, which he used to visit as a child with his grandmother:
“If you imagine Porto as a tree, I say that the Boho market is one of the main roots. It is located in the city center and is characterized by its erosion and its people who work in it.”
It is the mayor who demanded the renewal of the market in these conditions: that is, it was Rui Moreira who intended to maintain the ART Nouveau monument that opened it for the amendments that made it work for those who work in it.
After four years of renewal work, Bolhão reopens its doors in September 2022; It has been renewed from scratch, and it is now at the forefront of health and hygiene standards.
Rumors pass through the Paulhau market
“The renewal of Bolhão was a process supported by the city. It was a complex and difficult task, but the citizens wanted to do it.”
The project was imagined by young architect Nuno Valentim. He faced two main challenges: designing a product meter area that is compatible with health and hygiene regulations and imagine loading and downloading goods in underground space to facilitate the process.
“The design of the entire logistical part,” confirms, “All that is not seen, which makes the market functional,” breathing “… this was the great shift.”
The goods are delivered in the underground car park and the merchants are collected. There is a refrigerator, refrigerator and elevators. Everything is new and modern. **
Sarah Araijo works in the fish market that was her mother. The market is important for her: “Thousands and thousands of people come every day. After renewal, they returned, those who did not come, and everywhere, from Boavista, Maia, Porto; everyone has ever returned.”
Maria Texera is a flower who works on the market for life and does not imagine elsewhere:
“The market is my life; I was working for 54 years: a little girl has started and this is what I like to do.”
The cost of work and its cultural value
The renewal cost 28 million euros, of which 22 million were funded by the European Union, and 6 million public funds, partially national and regional.
“The relationship between the customer and the seller is much more and closer,” Francisca Kareniro Fernandez concludes. “Often we see these women teach customers to cook their products, which helps to understand the history of the city and the Portuguese lifestyle. The social and cultural value is very important for this market.”
Several sacrifices were made, but they deserved it; The market is still a decisive knot for the city’s economy, and it is also the cradle of its cultural identity.
