It was when the excessive number of vehicles already threatened the structures of the old buildings and caused traffic jams in the 2sqkm of the upper part of the Historic Centre, declared World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO, which the Olinda City Council hired us as Technical Advisor and General Coordinator of the Teams that would be involved in a Program to be elaborated by the Foundation of the Centre of Preservation of Historical Sites of Olinda aiming at the solution of these problems and the sustained development of Tourism in this sensitive area.
The Strategy relied on the following tripod:
1. Compatibility of the original residential and commercial occupation with tourism and its equipment;
2. Protection of Material Heritage through Land Use legislation;
3. Protection of Cultural Heritage through support for local artisans and merchants;
It was created in the lower part of Olinda, next to the sea border, in the region of Fortim do Queijo, a TOURIST TERMINAL of welcome and transition for access to the Historical Hill.
The TERMINAL is composed of 3 specific areas:
1. Wooded and guarded parking for cars and buses, for visitors and tourists;
2. Open Commercial Centre composed of 2 plazas, where there will be offered products not found in the Upper City, as well as bars and restaurants around the Fortim do Queijo;
3. Transhipment Station for the micro-bus that will circulate regularly through the High City transporting both visitors and residents who do not have their own vehicle. There will also be an information centre for tourists and toilets.
The architecture of the TOURIST TERMINAL seeks to integrate in a way that is almost unnoticed, through adequate scale and use of natural materials, including vegetation on the flat roofs and piaçava straw on the sloping ceilings, which characterize a few volumes.
Changing the direction of the traffic in various ways, both internal and in the access, so that the route meets all the residents and points of greater tourist interest, until arriving at Alto da Sé, area with vocation for light and contemplative tourist trade , where there are the 3 lookouts points, da Sé, da Misericórdia and do Horto del-Rei. It is the place with the best views and the highest liveliness of Olinda.
There, the trade of typical products such as tapioca, coconut water, fried “queijinho de coalho“ and cane juice deserved a relocation that ordered and organized their facilities without removing their spontaneity. There is also a tourist information desk, toilets and a telephone, and a support for local merchants, also with toilets.
An agreement was also reached between the public and private sectors aiming at a financial partnership in this Program and the orderly development of tourist equipment in the lower part and in sea border of Olinda.
Little was implemented, as the death of then-Minister of Land Reform Marcos Freire, in an unexplained flight explosion of his plane, interrupted federal support for the project, which included provision for IBRD resources.