Calm, discreet, silent, the place didn’t notice her. Arrábida, so close by, is the protagonist of a purpose that it wants to maintain. To frame? It is not necessary. Art doesn’t need a frame, nor a shadow, nor an excess of light… it just needs to exist.

It is about the place that this bridge speaks to us, of its vegetal and mineral escarpments, on one side the houses over the river where there is no space to rest a pillar, just keep the scales and relationships, the paths, the romantic of a route that it connects us and makes the city; on the other side, the plant that preserves the memory of the landscape that it is important to keep.

The bridge wants to be a result and not an experience, in Porto there is no hesitation… it is the past and the future, time and its awareness that lead to a solution: the purpose only fulfills the desire for intelligence that the work justifies, without any presumption or vassalage… but aware of the place and time that defines and marks us!

Everything already exists in this place. Even bridges that connect and separate us, colleges and shopping centers, intense traffic and paths of passion, atavism and futurism, contradictions… shadows of trees and breaks, sunsets and morning fogs, river waters and sea tides, watercolors of the Cross and abstractions by Ângelo, texts by Agustina in plans by Oliveira and, from above, Cardoso, Eiffel and so many others assure that heritage is all of this, respect and with identity, a continuum… matter for creation, a matter for humanity.

So the design was made.

This single family housing was developed within the limits outlined by the existing building, making use of the roof span, achieved by slight reducing the height of the ground floor and by changing the roof, thus creating sufficient height for this floor to be used for housing also.

The builidng is developed on two floors, with the following distribution:

The ground floor comprises the entrance hall of the dwelling, kitchen and pantry, living room, a bathroom, two bedrooms and an access to the upper floor. On this floor there is also a small garden that will be maintained and expanded through the demolition of the existing laundry which has now been transferred to the garage. On the upper floor, there is a small room, a bedroom and a bathroom.

This single family housing was developed within the limits outlined in the initial sketch. The daring volumetric composition is formed by an apparently closed volume that rests on a base and a plan that intercepts it. This volumetric arrangement is emphasized by the use of different materials: stone and wood, which respectively compose the upper volume/wall and the recessed lower floor.

This closure from the street is contradicted by the opening to the inner side of the lot. In terms of programmatic distribution, the space is divided between ancillary areas (basement), social areas (ground floor) and private areas (1st floor). The upper volume, with a single slopped roof, rises above the street emphasizing its dimension and creating a dynamic volumetric composition, with tension and, simultaneously, stability in the composition of its forms.

1. LOCALIZATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SITE 

The existing house is in a predominantly habitation area, next to the Thames River. It can be characterized as being an excellent zone, with good car access and public transportations. The parcel where the house is implanted has about 985m2. 

The existing construction is made of brick walls and wooden floors and roofs. It’s a characteristic construction with traditional materials.

2. THE SOLUTION

The main objective of the project is to restore the existing building and make a small extension to the rear garden, respecting the existing trees, and maintaining as much as possible the old house.

3. DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONSTRUCTION 

In this restoration we searched for continuity in the interior spaces and in the existing functional areas. The idea was to provide generous areas and to usufruct in the totality the qualities of the existing house. 

The project develops in all the floors, with the following distribution: Basement – a playroom, a home cinema room, toilets and stairs (to the garden and to ground floor); Ground floor – the entrance of the habitation, with a small hall and corridor, where is located the main stairs to access the superior floors, and we have the accesses for the library, a living room, sanitary installation and an entrance of service with a space for closets; 1^st floor – with a gallery with glass floor, is were is situated the private area of the habitation, with three bedrooms, having one of them a privative toilet and closet, and still a toilet for use of the other rooms; 2nd floor (attic) there are four bedrooms and two toilets. 

The facades were studied to keep the original look except in the rear where the new extension is with a modern language.

4. CONSTRUCTIVE OPTIONS 

In a general way, the exterior walls of the building will be kept, proceeding only to its physical recovery, towed and painted. 

The exterior wooden frames will be the same to the existing ones, and will be painted, keeping the original drawing. The interior doors and panels will be wooden and painted.

The interior separation walls will be in brick masonry and painted. The ceilings will plaster painted.

The sanitary installations and kitchen walls will be in washable material. 

In all project we had the concern to characterize the spaces in accordance with the necessities of the future owners, keeping the essential structure of the building, given its integration in an area of patrimonial interest.

The project was the answer to a competition for the construction of 164 apartments destined to rehouse the people from an area of slum housing.

The problems involved with designing a collective housing for this social group raised a series of question that, once recognised, needed to be studied and answered. Factors such as the different ways of inhabiting, the different family core, the several ethnic groups and their respective ingrained patterns of life, all called for a diversified use of space and demanded alternative spaces that should be integrated into the scheme, whilst arriving at a common denominative.

The construction of a collective group of housing in a deprived urban area is capable of raising the environmental standard of the whole locality. The site in question is excellently located near the National Highway 109, surrounded by green areas and with views to the sea. The design demanded care and attention in order to develop a language and a relationship between volumes, worried about not creating “social ghettos” that disadvantage the whole development and through association negate the remaining favourable spaces of the habitation, a threat urban social housing projects have fallen victim to in the past. There was an identified need to build the social housing and accompanying urban spaces with a strong regard of durability, in recognition of the fact that a non-descript act of degradation soon generates more significant decay.

The site under study is part of the Serrinha Urbanization Plan, Rebordosa, where the City Council plans to build a multi-purpose exhibition park to publicize the city’s business activities in order to make business dynamics more competitive and that the City Hall intends to provide support and continuity in a strategic vision, with a broad influence beyond the territorial limits of the municipality of Paredes.

The Project defines an architectural solution with a vision of a building that, in addition to the strictly functional sense of a multipurpose business exhibition park, enables symbolic communication capable of being an important reference in communication and in adhering to environmental quality concerns, landscape and urban integration of the municipality of Paredes, in a contemporary perspective.

With the conception of this Project, it is intended to obtain a functional space that structures and values ​​an entire business area that the plan envisages and that is intended to be in fact the driving force of the high potential that this Municipality has been showing posible.

The intervention presents itself as an opportunity to encourage urban revitalisation, as a sign of change and a motto for the start of a wider operation.

The conception of this space as a regeneration generating pole and centre of attractiveness and connection between areas with relevant potential foresees the restructuring of this area with a unifying green structure and the creation of a prominent housing unit in the region.

The realization of a housing structure under a continuous green system will enable the structuring of the territory and the reinforcement of social and urban cohesion, as well as the implementation of notorious urban dynamics, important for the development of the city.

In this sense, this project has a scale, which in itself surpasses the domain of the intervention area, resulting from a global, differentiating and unique vision in the region.

The intervention strategy contemplates:

– Housing. It is planned to build three residential buildings, with a maximum of 12 floors, in a volumetric set of 8 and 12 and a total of approximately 334 dwellings, the design of which should be as flexible as possible and can be adapted to the socio-cultural economic situation of the market, allowing for functional versatility so as to become a reference element in the current context and evolution of the city of Luanda.

– Trade and services. The three buildings are expected to be occupied on the ground floor, in contact with the green space, and the mezzanine floor, with commerce and services, providing the whole enterprise with great dynamics, attractiveness and versatility in terms of occupation proposals. The solution includes a total of 12 spaces, all with one mezzanine floor, and diversified areas.

– Green Zone. It is proposed the creation of a surrounding area of predominant green, singular and unique, with high environmental and landscape quality and differentiation. It works as a platform that shapes the terrain. The limits of the land will have walls 60cm high and up to 2m in green fence. The use of native species is privileged. All the exterior green space to be and leisure will be the target of a more specific landscape study.

– Parking space. Below the green platform, which is the privileged belvedere overlooking the sea, the various levels of parking are distributed below and already underground to support the whole development, as well as the users of the beach and all the green space that is intended as a reference. This underground car park is subdivided in three platforms of two floors below ground each, thus covering the whole intervention area.