Modern Apartment Design with Open Spaces: Elegant Oporto Anselmo in Porto City Center

The Oporto Anselmo apartment block is a housing complex featuring thirty apartments situated in the center of Porto. Designed primarily for short-term stays, each apartment, including the smaller units, boasts either a balcony on the upper floors or a garden patio on the lower ones.

In addition to the typical features of a collective housing building, the design includes shared indoor and outdoor living spaces such as a swimming pool with a changing room and garden areas.

The project aimed to maximize garden areas by freeing up a significant portion of the plot, especially considering the previous construction's industrial and ruinous character. Permeable zones, including patios and garden areas at various levels, were introduced in the backyard. A suspended garden is proposed on the roof of the parking lot.

The overall volumetric design, conceived as a compact mass, incorporates voids to create a play of light and shadow on both the main facade (east) and the rear facade (west). These recesses, facing the street and the patio/garden, serve as private balconies and entrances for natural light into patios.

Formally, the proposal adopts a monolithic language, utilizing a minimal number of materials, primarily concrete, with contrasting steel and wood accents. The design and material choices emphasize simplicity and cleanliness.

The objective is to create a timeless piece with diverse influences, encompassing national and European references. Regardless of the project's year, the aim is to maintain consistent impact, formal and constructive quality, and a welcoming atmosphere for inhabitants and visitors alike.

The intended outcome is a space that naturally invites occupation, use, and engagement in its existence. The architecture is austere in its classicist approach to form, volumes, geometry, colors, and textures.

Architects: Arquitectos Aliados | https://www.archdaily.com/office/arqu...
Area: 23702 ft²
Year: 2020
Photographs: Fernando Fernandes, Alexander Bogorodskiy | https://www.archdaily.com/photographe... , https://www.archdaily.com/photographe...
Manufacturers: AutoDesk, Sika, Duravit, Aleluia Cerâmicas, Arquitectos Aliados, Casa das Lâmpadas, Cinca, Knauf, Leca, MICROCRETE, Secil, Tria, Vicaima, Weber, moso-bamboo
Lead Architect: Susana Leite
Engineering: ASL
Project Team: Autores: Susana Leite , Luis Barbosa, Pedro Monteiro colaboradores: Clara Araújo, João Farinha
Clients: Porto Dorme
Landscaping: Arquitectos Aliados, Lda
Decoration: Arquitectos Aliados, Lda
City: Porto
Country: Portugal