The house and the place

Located on a narrow plot, but generous in its urban frontage, the House in Foz Velha arises from the challenge of building in one of the densest and most emblematic areas of Porto, where the dialogue between tradition and contemporaneity is inevitable.

The plot, with limited solar exposure at street level, and the proximity of facing buildings required careful consideration of light, privacy, and comfort — central themes in defining the proposal.

Light, ventilation, and privacy

The house is organized into three floors, with the ground floor slightly elevated in relation to Travessa das Laranjeiras, enhancing privacy from the public space.
Inside, a hallway that runs through the building from the basement to the roof is the structuring element of the project:
it introduces natural light and ventilation to the lower floors and ensures visual and thermal comfort for the bedrooms on the upper floor.

This solution transforms a physical limitation — narrowness and shading — into an architectural breathing device, making light the main material of the project.

Space and continuity

The overlapping living rooms — one on the first floor and another on the second — create a system of vertical, fluid, and interconnected living.
The top floor, the most exposed to sunlight, houses the living room, which extends to an outdoor patio on the roof of the bedrooms, a space for rest and contemplation facing the city.

This spatial articulation allows for maximizing usable space and the relationship between the different levels of the dwelling, without losing the sense of spaciousness and continuity.

Material and expression

The exterior language is restrained and rigorous.
The plastered and painted facades, resting on a granite base, reinterpret the traditional construction of Porto.
The setback floor, clad in pure zinc camarinha, stands out for its lightness and light reflection, reducing the volumetric impact and subtly marking the contemporary intervention.

Synthesis

The House in Foz Velha is an exercise in synthesis between density and lightness, privacy and openness, tradition and innovation.
A project that transforms the limitations of the place into opportunities to reinvent urban living — vertical, luminous, and intimate, in the historical heart of Foz.