Reconversion into Apartments on Bragas Street

The building, located in front of the Faculty of Law of the University of Porto, showed strong potential for residential use in the rental market, following the strong dynamics of the rehabilitation of Rua dos Bragas.It featured peculiar characteristics, which we understood to enhance, such as the staircase skylight, the outdoor courtyard, the compartments in the roof space, and the attic.Thus, the building was converted into 4 duplex apartments. The typologies of these apartments are T1 and T1+1 with an outdoor courtyard.Functional and practical solutions prevailed throughout the rehabilitation project. However, they were always framed within a strategy to absorb period details, enriching the created environments with them.The apartments are all different in their solar exposure, their relationship with the street and the surroundings, their horizon, their relationship with the courtyard, and their configuration.Aspects of thermal comfort, acoustic comfort, and safety against fire risk were particularly addressed.Special attention was given to the control and rationalization of energy costs throughout the year.The project was specially designed, oriented, planned, and managed to allow its execution by small teams of craftsmen very familiar with property rehabilitation, and with optimized construction time.