Streets have different forms that are not defined only by their partitions, furniture, and width, but also by their edges as vital features of their spatiality. The relationship between a street and a building impacts the street interface configurations, resulting in various topological characteristics. Thus, the street interface is a physical entity that is produced by the interrelationship between urban morphological elements (street and building), and the way it is formed and used affects the livability of the street. The methods used in the current study contribute to an empirical urban morphological–visual cognitive investigation of arterial street interface configurations, particularly on the ground floor level, to assess potential relations between variations in the physical configurations that influence pedestrian visual perception using mobile eye-tracking glasses. In conclusion, this study contributes to research into developing a spatial framework for arterial street liveability, addressing the pilot case study of Avenida da República in Lisbon.

Among the European coastal territories most vulnerable to the effects of mean sea level rise, such as flooding and erosion phenomena, are the 943 km of the Portuguese coastline where approximately 70 per cent of the population lives (Bigotte et al, 2014), a percentage that rises to around 80 per cent in the summer months, due to tourism (Andrade et al, 2002), especially in the Algarve region (southern Portugal). The case study of this research is the urban public space in the coastal city of Quarteira, which is particularly vulnerable. This space between the land and the sea has been recently framed in the inter-municipal climate change adaptation plan PIAAC-AMAL (Plano Intermunicipal de Adaptação às Alterações Climáticas do Algarve). The aim of the article is to explore the natural and anthropogenic process of formation and transformation of the urban space between the land and sea that occurred over time, up to the definition of the seashore street. Interpretative drawing is used as a methodology to understand the form of the public space. This is considered the first step for designing the public space between the land and the sea that deals both with the effects of climate change and the seasonal cycles of summer tourism. Through this analysis, it is argued that the understanding of the form (morphological characteristics) of this continuous space between land and sea is fundamental for consistent and robust adaptation design.

Ilha de Moçambique is an island off the northern coast of Mozambique, covering an area of 1.5 km². Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991, the island is currently under threat due to the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events caused by climate change. Cyclonic events and pluvial floods have led to the progressive degradation of buildings and are compromising the integrity of the site. Furthermore, the island’s economic and social vulnerability is also worsening. The article aims to critically review the strategic planning approaches adopted for climate adaptation on Ilha de Moçambique. The objective is to identify and assess the planning instruments implemented to protect coastal urban heritage in light of contemporary challenges. Methodologically, a literature review is conducted based on the analysis of a collection of plans dedicated to adapting to climate change and heritage preservation. The results reveal that current planning approaches remain fragmented and insufficient, reducing their practical impact. There is a notable absence of planning instruments specifically designed to integrate cultural heritage preservation with urban climate adaptation. In conclusion, although some initiatives are underway, significant gaps persist in the strategic planning framework, underscoring the urgent need for inclusive integrated and adaptive measures to safeguard the island’s urban heritage and community in the long term.

This article presents the pedagogical process of reading and designing in the design studio course in the first semester of the fourth year in Architecture and Urbanism (2020–2021) held at the Lisbon School of Architecture of the Universidade de Lisboa. The research by design results are inscribed in the Embryo Project “[entra]mar Sea Intertwined City. Interpretation and Design of Portuguese Seashore Streets Vulnerable to Sea Level Rise”, funded by the FCT exploratory projects through CIAUD—Research Center in Architecture, Urbanism and Design at the Lisbon School of Architecture, Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal). The aim of this article is to demonstrate the usefulness of urban morphology in the reading and design process of an urban seafront vulnerable to extreme weather events. The approach to the “Sesimbra [entra]mar” in a pedagogical context confirms morphological interpretation as a key instrument for the formation of students and is consequently valuable for the practice of architecture and urbanism.

Revealing the place addresses the referential role of sacred architecture elements that dot the Portuguese Atlantic coastline in contemporary architectural pedagogy and in the practice of architecture. The long Portuguese coastline, the case study of the research, is dotted with sacred architectural elements—sanctuaries, churches, chapels and crosses—oriented according to both compositional and canonical cosmological principles. The character of the space of articulation between the land and the sea is made evident by the tension between the sacred elements and the landscape. This paper addresses this relation, resorting to decomposition interpretative drawings and arguments that uncover the formal relationships between sacred architecture and the landscape, proposing an interpretative reading of the built elements that combines type and place. Furthermore, it discusses the transposition of composition principles from sacred to secular architecture, building an analogy for the typological transfer process, considering the transference of existing qualities in sacred architecture for contemporary architectural projects. The hypothesis discussed is that the decoding of the architectural composition of sacred elements in the landscape remains useful both in the pedagogy and practice of architecture. Finally, it is evidenced that this exercise allows us to transfer formal relations established between sacred buildings and the landscape for contemporary architectural practice, revealing type and topos.