O Caminhar da Memória: Um percurso entra e Fé, Cultura e História. Uma proposta de intervenção. A nível de estudo preliminar em edificação no Sítio Histórico da Barragem do Patu, em Senador Pompeu, Ceará.

Abstract

This work is based on the understanding that certain spaces bear deep marks of history and collective identity, being recognized as places of memory (Nora, 1984) — anchors of social memory where affections, resistance, and absences are inscribed. The former Usina Gótica, located at the Historic Site of the Patu Dam, in Senador Pompeu, Ceará, is one such territory of pain and faith, linked to the 1932 drought and the concentration camps established in the region. In response to the physical and symbolic abandonment of the site, the work proposes the elaboration of a preliminary study of architectural intervention based on contemporary principles of critical preservation. The ruin is understood as a valuable fragment, whose material and poetic integrity must be respected — not reconstructed, but re-signified. The proposal envisions the creation of the Complexo da Usina: Memorial Cultural e Ecumênico aos Retirantes, a sensitive public space that unites memory, spirituality, and belonging. The guiding concept of walking — both literal and symbolic — informs the site's design and interpretive route, evoking the forced displacement of the drought refugees and the current Caminhada da Seca, an annual ritual of remembrance. The ruin remains the visual and symbolic protagonist, in dialogue with discreet contemporary architectural additions. By re-signifying a historically marginalized territory, the project proposes an architecture of listening and permanence, capable of activating collective memory, fostering community-based tourism, and strengthening the cultural ties of the sertanejo people with their history