INSIGHT | UNDERGROUND SPACE
DELVING DEEP: RETHINKING UNDERGROUND USE
‘Rethinking Our Cities using the Underground Space’ was the important theme of a dedicated collaborative event hosted in Porto, Portugal, by the Portuguese tunnelling society (CPT),
in Nov 2023, and moderated by ITACUS Co-chair Antonia Cornaro, Expert Underground Space with Amberg Engineering as well as lecturer on Planning of Underground Space at ETH Zurich. In this article, she describes and summarizes the key points of the interesting discussion
In a groundbreaking collaboration in late 2023, the Portuguese tunnelling society (Comissão Portuguesa de Túneis e do Espaço Subterrâneo – CPT) invited the ITA’s Committee of Underground Space (ITACUS) to moderate and participate in a thought-provoking event on ‘Rethinking Our Cities using the Underground Space.’ The gathering was held in the northern coastal
city of Porto and drew together professionals from diverse domains, such as civil engineering, architecture, geotechnics, geology, and urban planning. A range of topics were discussed as the disciplines
converged in the intensive one-day program, which was also co-organized with the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (Faculdade de Engenharia Universidade do Porto – FEUP), the Portuguese geotechnical society (Sociedade Portuguesa de Geotecnia – SPG), and the country’s institution for sustainable construction (Instituto para a Construção Sustentável (ICS). The event’s presentations covered a spectrum
of themes, from current developments that utilize underground space, such as metro transport and high- speed rail to drainage tunnel systems, sustainability, and projects employing powerful digital technology, for example Building Information Modelling (BIM). Notable projects were discussed that showcase the
successful integration of underground spaces with surface environments in dense urban areas, including examples such as, locally, the renovation of Bolhao Market in Porto, and the construction of Naples metro station, in Italy. During the event, a pivotal feature was a distinguished
Above, figure 1: Metro train in Porto, Portugal IMAGES: ANTONIA CORNARO UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED
50 | Summer 2025
multidisciplinary panel was gathered for a roundtable discussion. The panel included: Antonio Topa Gomes, Deputy of the National Assembly and Professor of the University of Porto, FEUP; Sérgio Bernardes, Civil Engineer, Infraestructure of Portugal (IP); Lúcia Lourenço, Member of the Executive Board of Metro do Porto; Rui Pina, Civil Engineer at the Metropolitano de Lisboa; and,
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