Geotest

Rato’s garden

• Location: Covilhã, Portugal
• Solution: Infrastructure and Transport
• Type: Urbanism, environment and public areas
• Architecture: Arpas / Nuno Teotónio Pereira Arquitecto
• Client: Covilhã City Hall
• Scope: Foundations and structures
• Project: 2001
• Construction: 2004
• Photography: Rodrigo Cabral
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The area where the Rato's garden is located is along the left bank of Goldra's stream, in Covilhã. The stream was delimited by granite stone walls that were partially damaged in this area. It was repaired through the execution of gabion walls, in front of which a granite stone wall was built, by reusing the stones of the existing wall. The construction of a fish pond with a pedestrian path and stopping areas with benches was also planned. The bottom of the lake is a 0.25m thick reinforced concrete slab, molded onto the ground.

In the transition from the lake to the river, a small wall in reinforced concrete with a height of 0.62m was built, and for the interior of the bank, a support wall in reinforced concrete was made, inclined at 15% from the front, also covered by a granite stone wall. The pedestrian path and the stopping areas were achieved by reinforced concrete walls, forming closed boxes filled with compacted landfill material, topped by a layer of concrete filling, where the coating was laid.

The intervention also included the execution of metal stairs, which allow access from the garden to the neighboring street, located at an upper level. Its structure is in steel, consisting of a central beam in tubular profile, to which the floor structure, the guards and the steps are welded.