Ninth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

This research is based on an overseas journey carried out for one year by the vessel Zargo (the first Portuguese unit built for an oceanic fleet dedicated to the tuna fishery) with the objective of exploring the Atlantic sea of the Portuguese colonies in 1968. The reconstitution of the trip arises from the testimony of two fishermen of the vessel and the found interviews given by the Captain. The research uses reports to design the spaces assembled by the journey, through a close deepening of what was experienced by the crew. Simultaneously, the voyage, allows for the understanding of time as one of the main agents of the spatial transformations. Thus, through spatial reports, one tries to understand the complexity of time in the lived place. In this way, the motion of Zargo reveals the life and the forms of inhabiting and working in the boat during a year. All the movements that make up the daily life are gathered together in a boat that continually glides over the uncertain surface of the sea.