Description
The company Monteiro & Giro (M & G) from Oporto in Portugal was active in Mozambique in particular in livestock farming, and cotton and tea cultivation. In the 1950s, they moved their headquarters to Quelimane and commissioned a number of buildings from Arménio Losa (1908–1988) and Cassiano Barbosa (1911–1998), also in Oporto. The M & G ensemble is composed of two distinct poles: the Monteiro & Giro Urban Complex of Chuabo (1956), located in the centre of Quelimane, and the M & G industrial complex, located on the outskirts of the same city. Located 15 kilometres from Quelimane, the M & G industrial complex was established near a clay deposit and is strategically placed adjacent to the railway line. Planned as a structure organised axially around a road connecting the outer edge of the site to its centre, the complex comprises a ceramics factory, housing for qualified workers, and communal facilities. The dining hall area stands out as a building that centralised social life and provided meals to the residents. Defined by a vaulted roof – a cruciform structure supported by its four corners –, it functions as a large protective sunshade. At the geometric centre of the vault, the dining room occupies a square defined by the ceiling – an inverted star suspended at its four points – and large sliding windows that afford an extensive connection with the outdoor terrace. Responding to climatic considerations and drawing inspiration from contemporary research on the lightness provided by thin concrete structures, the designers devised a formal solution that combined a sophisticated structural framework with the traditional construction method of brick vaults.
The houses, semi-detached, are parallelepiped volumes elevated on pilotis, creating a sheltered area on the ground floor (for servants accommodation, children’s recreation, garage and access staircase). They are enveloped by ceramic grilles and topped by a ventilated gable roof covered with ceramic tiles. Both projects formally explore the features necessary for maximum shading and ventilation. This is achieved through site planning, perforated walls, deep covered balconies, the use of sunshades, extensive covered open areas and ventilated roof spaces. The industrial complex is today partially abandoned and in a state of decay.
The M&G ensemble represented a masterpiece of its era, marked by the attention given by modern architects to new contexts, connecting and exchanging world visions, drawing inspiration from European to Brazilian, Colombian or Mexican architecture, while focussing on the specific circumstances of colonial Africa.
References
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Losa, A. and Barbosa, C. (1958). Anteprojecto de um Conjunto de Edifícios a Construir em Quelimane. Memória Descritiva. Porto: FAUP/CDUA.
Losa, A. (2008) [1948]. “A arquitectura e as novas fábricas“. In: A. Tostões (ed.), 1º Congresso Nacional de Arquitectura, Teses. Lisbon: OA, pp. 127–128.
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Tostões, A. and Oliveira, M. M. (2010). “Transcontinental Modernism. M & G as an Unité d’habitation and a Factory Complex in Mozambique“. Docomomo Journal (43), pp. 70–73. https://doi.org/10.52200/43.A.2BIF8AUU
Tostões, A. and Oliveira, M. M. (2013). “The Monteiro & Giro Ensemble. The City and the Factory“. In: A. Tostões (ed.), Modern Architecture in Africa: Angola and Mozambique. Lisbon: ICIST/Técnico-University of Lisbon, pp. 254–273.
complex. Longitudinal section
The semi-detached houses of the industrial complex. The elevation over pilotis creates a sheltered area on the ground floor, for servants accommodation, children’s recreation, garage and access staircase.
The dining hall of the industrial complex has a vaulted roof – a cruciform structure supported by its four corners – that forms a large protective sunshade.
Originally published in: Uta Pottgiesser, Ana Tostões, Modernism in Africa. The Architecture of Angola, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Birkhäuser, 2024.