Free Entrance - 3 of December of 2015 - 9.30h - Clérigos Church​​​​​

On the date that marks the International Day of Disabled Persons, was inaugurated the Accessible Path and the Room A + (Accessibility +) in the Clérigos Tower.

Taking advantage of the recent renovation and conversion works of one of the most prestigious buildings in the Porto city, supported in a project that soon solved the accessibility constraints of the building, it was proposed by the municipality, the installation of a multisensory perception cocoon, to simulate the experience of being in the top of Clérigos’ Tower, accessible and available to all visitors. 

According to Architect Lia Ferreira, Ombudswoman of Disabled Citizens, the goal of this work was to alert for the need of a paradigm change and show that even in Heritage Secular Buildings, it’s possible to do more and better, promoting the integration and inclusion of everyone.

Rui Moreira said to believe firmly that, endowing the city of accessibility and inclusion policies, its working on the foundation for a more competitive and attractive city, a closer, more familiar and more attentive Porto. A Porto of all and to all, without exception.

"We brought the top of the Tower of the Clerics to all those who, for various reasons, cannot get there. We want to open the city, blur the boundaries of inclusion, go further and innovate," said the Municipality President. 

The Accessible Path comprises an access ramp to an elevator, which travels to A + room on the fourth floor. Inside the room integrates a cylindrical cocoon (produced from the superposition of cork panels) which has seven monitors around it, transmitting, in real time, images that are captured by strategically positioned cameras, toward the cardinal points at the tower top.

At the moment, the cameras are able to transmit, in writing, subtitles of the spaces that you can visualize. In a second phase, audio transmission will be possible, which includes, in addition to speech, also broadcast in real time, the sounds that can be heard on top of the Clérigos’ Tower. 

To recall that the Clérigos’ Tower was recently considered a building with high accessibility rate.

The project was developed by Porto City Council, in partnership with the Regional Association of Cultural and Naturaleritage Protection (ARPPA), the Clérigos’ Brotherhood and the company Amorim insulations.