Abandoned Rua do Bonjardim mansion in Porto to become second campus of Escola Superior de Saúde de Santa Maria

An abandoned mansion on Rua do Bonjardim in Porto, left unused for several years, is being refurbished to house a second campus of Escola Superior de Saúde de Santa Maria, the institution told Lusa.

Second campus on Rua do Bonjardim for Escola Superior de Saúde de Santa Maria

The polytechnic higher education institution said it will keep its current facilities on Travessa de Antero de Quental. The works on Rua do Bonjardim form part of its strategy to expand its activity, and the new premises will include "classrooms, laboratories, offices for the various services and more space for students".

Works approved by Câmara do Porto and a 730-day schedule

Asked by Lusa, Câmara do Porto said the relevant urban planning operation concerns "alteration and extension works" to adapt the existing group of buildings for this institution’s facilities.

The deadline for completing the project is 730 days.

The developer is Província Portuguesa das Franciscanas Missionárias de Nossa Senhora, and the architectural design was submitted by the studio Pedro Mosca & Pedro Gonçalves, Arquitetos.

Based on images shared on the studio’s social media accounts, it appears that a new building will be constructed behind the mansion.

Earlier plans for the Bonjardim mansion and heritage classification in the PDM

In August 2020, JN reported that Floret Arquitetura had been commissioned to draw up a programme for the "Bonjardim mansion". That plan envisaged "a 50-room hotel, a restaurant, a café and a coworking space" for the site, in an intervention involving the construction of "two new volumes".

According to the same report, the property dates from 1906 and had originally been commissioned from engineer Rigaud Nogueira, who had already built similar mansions on Rua de Santa Catarina and on Avenida da Boavista.

Under Porto’s Municipal Master Plan (PDM), the mansion sits within an area "of urbanistic or architectural interest" and is classified as a "group of properties of heritage value".

Escola Superior de Saúde de Santa Maria was established in 2016 and "inherited the physical and training assets of the Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Santa Maria". According to its website, it offers undergraduate degrees, master’s programmes, postgraduate courses and short courses.