ArchShowcase Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Caldeireiros Houses in Porto, Portugal by clínica de arquitecturaJune 13th, 2019 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: clínica de arquitectura The project was initiated by a commission to refurbish a traditional 17th century residential building in Porto city centre. It was a three-storey building with a large and complex courtyard in different levels (due to the steep topography of the city), which was completely covered by poorly built and insalubrious shacks. During the design process, the adjoining building (from a different owner) was added to the project, and later, another small building already existing in the courtyard was also included. In total, the project comprises 6 small apartments (2 studios, 2 one bedroom flats and 2 one bedroom duplexes), a shop and a (pre-existing) restaurant.
The shacks were partially teared down by a storm and what was left of them was demolished, unveiling the beauty of the existing layered courtyard, which became the centre of the project: a collective space where all the residents may gather. The entrance from the street leads to this new open space, from where one may access all the apartments through a system of new stairs and balconies. After the demolition of the shacks, the rear façades of the two main buildings had to be rebuilt. The new design is a reinterpretation of the traditional rear façades of 19th century houses of Porto city centre, and it enabled the inclusion of the lift and access balconies. The interior design of the apartments follows simple layouts, seeking to take the maximum advantage of the small space available, and to benefit from the textures of the different materials. All the wooden and stone structural elements in good conditions were maintained, and the intervention followed the materials and logics of traditional construction. All the wooden elements were left uncovered and the stone walls were only covered by a thin layer of lime mortar showing all its irregularities. Contact clínica de arquitectura
Categories: Autocad, Building, House, Residential, Restaurant, Shop |