Sandrina Martins, a Portuguese descendant and director of Le Carreau du Temple in Paris, was in Lisbon as part of the TODOS Festival to share the experience of transforming an abandoned market in the French capital. In 2015, Sandrina took on the mission of giving new life to this historic space, which had operated as a clothing market since the end of the 19th century and closed permanently in 1984 or 1985, after the decline caused by fast fashion in the 80s. Today, Le Carreau du Temple is a space that combines cultural programming, sports and wellness activities with over 90 weekly classes, and hosts major events and art fairs, generating about 80% of its own revenue through space rentals.
The transformation of Le Carreau du Temple arose from citizen mobilization. Neighbors fought against the demolition of the building, the only living building on the neighborhood's historical monuments list. In 2001, the then mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, decided to restore it and, two years later, 133 proposals from the public about the future of the space were analyzed. Construction began in 2004 and lasted almost a decade, due to the discovery of an ancient cemetery that required archaeological work. The new Carreau du Temple opened in 2014.
The Arroios Parish Council has been trying to reactivate the Mercado do Forno do Tijolo, inaugurated in 1949, which lost foot traffic over the years due to supermarket competition and changing consumption habits. This year, the council removed cars, created leisure zones, shade areas, open-air cinema and held debates with residents. Sandrina Martins believes that Forno do Tijolo has the potential to be inspired by the Parisian model, but warns that each space has its own history and constraints, and that the existing diversity of uses must be preserved and not merely transformed into a cultural space.
