Main coordinator and co-author of the Asprela Park
Main coordinator and co-author of the Asprela Park
Paulo Farinha Marques is a Landscape Architect and Associate Professor with Habilitation at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, Portugal.
He graduated in Landscape Architecture from the Instituto Superior de Agronomia of the University of Lisbon (1988), obtained his PhD in Landscape Architecture from the Faculty of Architectural Studies - University of Sheffield, United Kingdom (1999) and took his habilitation exams at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (2023).
His main areas of interest are the design of green outdoor spaces for public use, urban biodiversity and vegetation in the landscape. He is responsible for managing the Campo Alegre Botanical Park, which includes the University of Porto Botanical Garden.
The Asprela Central Park, with an area of 6 hectares, serves as a central connection point for the entire Asprela university campus, uniting various universities and institutes, as well as the entire residential area.
Developed using Nature Based Solutions, the park reflects a strong environmental concern. One of its main objectives is to function as a large retention basin during periods of heavy rainfall, with the capacity to store up to 10,000 cubic meters of rainwater – an important measure for adapting to climate change.
With a carefully planned landscape, the space includes water mirrors, streams, 900 planted trees and more than 700 preserved trees. It also offers more than two kilometers of walking and cycling routes accessible to people with reduced mobility.