With a rich facade covered with azulejos in perfect Portuguese style overlooking Rua José Falcão, the complex of buildings that underwent renovation is located in the historic fabric of the city of Porto.
The complex, once a factory, warehouse and showcase for Devesas pottery with an adjoining marble workshop, has now been redeveloped by local architects Anarchlab Arquitectura to house 12 flats, including duplexes and spacious two-room apartments.
The interior of the lot, completely destroyed at the time of the project, was demolished and rebuilt in shape, while the facades were restored according to the original design without any changes except for the south-facing façade, not subject to architectural restrictions. For this reason it was painted yellow and reconnected to the city through a large porthole thus producing a new chromatic and geometric balance.
In the interiors, the roof framework marked by the modulation of the large skylights, together with the new steel structure inserted in the old perimeter walls, define a pure, essential design for the common areas, in a diaphanous, minimalist atmosphere.
The flats, on the other hand, are organized through the careful distribution of monolithic-looking volumes of furniture, a tribute to the stone blocks that populated the warehouse in the pottery. The domestic space is thus defined between the voids of these solidly constructed masses, in neutral and dark tones contrasting with the light colours of the wooden floors and white walls.