Experimental

At the entrance to Foz do Porto, a former bourgeois corner house has undergone an intervention that seeks to reconcile the preservation of urban memory with a contemporary reading of dwelling. The main façades have been entirely preserved, respecting the architectural character of the building and its relationship with the surrounding fabric. However, the interior has been radically transformed to accommodate new forms of occupation.

The programme is now distributed across different scales and intensities: the lower floors host a street-level shop and small studio flats, intended for temporary rental or compact living. At the top, a duplex penthouse has been added. This new volume stands out not only through its strategic setback from the façade, but also through its distinct language — exposed steel, smooth surfaces, and sharp incisions that define terraces and generous openings.

The materials used in the new interventions do not attempt to mimic the original; instead, they assert their own temporality. Steel, glass, and exposed concrete contrast with the carved stonework, wrought-iron railings, and traditional tiles still visible at the building’s base. These cuts and additions act as surgical incisions into the body of the house — revealing layers, while simultaneously opening the space to light and to the riverside landscape.