Lat: -15.803466988015000, Long: 11.848558333333000

Tombwa [Porto Alexandre]

Namibe, Angola

Historical Background and Urbanism

Urban expansion along the coast southwards led to the creation of two settlements that must have functioned initially as port bases for the journeys of exploration in the mid-nineteenth century but quickly developed principally as fishing hubs. This is the case of the Baía dos Tigres on the southern tip and of Porto Alexandre (present day Tombwa), north of the former and south of the city of Namibe – both located near the southern border of the territory. Another coastal settlement in the region worth mentioning is Lucira, to the north of the city of Namibe, small, with scant population both before and after independence, mainly connected to fishing and the production of dried fish. The Plano de Zonas de Ocupação Imediata (Plan for Areas of Immediate Occupation) by architect Vasco Morais Soares (1970) pointed to a readaptation of those pre-existing areas and presented a promising boost to this small settlement. Of a very formal composition, it was based on late modern city models with the reinterpretation of the small square and the non-regular block and the hierarchization of streets with a high sense of adaptation to the local. It meanwhile preserved a central avenue with a small square at the top, thus consolidating the references to the traditional city. At Tombwa, the mid-twentieth century saw significant prosperity leading to the elaboration of urbanization plans defining an urban fabric and the construction of some important buildings such as the Cine Alexandrense, the church unexpectedly set in the desert on a cliff by the sea, the main teaching and health facilities and the post office building. The creation of the city goes back in time, with mention of its foundation in 1854. There is mention of two plans: an Estudo Urbanístico de uma Unidade Residencial (Urbanistic Study of a Residential Unit) by the architect Antonieta Jacinto of 1958 and a Plano Parcial de Urbanização de Zonas de Ocupação Imediata (Partial Urbanization Plan for Areas of Immediate Occupation) from April 1962 by architect José Frederico Ludovice. The first proposed the extension of the settlement through the creation of a residential zone along a narrow stretch to the coast southwards. It would occupy an extension of basically half the initial settlement, marked by a structure with a longitudinal grid, emphasizing the sense of the pre-existing elements – in morphological and compositional terms, it is worth mentioning the longitudinal division of structures into old and new. Whereas the old was marked by a series of buildings of apparently random location, the new was based on a rule and compositional order between the type of construction and the morphology of the public area, creating open blocks defined by roads where buildings formed the front of a discontinuous street with visual relations in varied directions. This characteristic was emphasized by squares, striking and resting moments pause. The new zone was separated by a wide avenue flanked by a continuous green corridor. The second plan, dating from 1962, was based on the former proposal and gave it continuation to the remaining constructions along the coast. It focused on wide roads perpendicular to the sea, using green areas as a unifying element, concentrating a series of squares and blocks, demarcated by small isolated buildings that define the continuity of the street. Structuring roads that suggested the future growth of Tombwa were visible in this plan.

Religious Architecture

Religious Architecture

Equipment and Infrastructures

Equipment and Infrastructures