This is a project for the restoration of a heritage-protected building in Foz Velha. It includes a doorway that belongs to a 14th-century construction, being cited in the classification municipal paper that this element is contemporary to the Castle of Foz. Medieval elements in the layered-by-time ruin strengthen the building’s ownership of the value of antiquity.
Project name: Casa Montebelo
Architect’s Firm: Alessandro Pepe Arquitecto
Website: http://www.a-pepe.com/
Contact e-mail: alessandropepe1@gmail.com
Project location: Rua de Montebelo 59, Porto, Portugal
Completion Year: 2022
Gross Built Area (square meters or square feet): 166 m2
Lead Architects: Alessandro Pepe
Other participants:
Collaborators: Jana Císařová, Pablo Hernandez Esteban, Yashwin Dev, Francesco Santulli
Philosophy of the project: Derek Cluckie
Historical research: Helena Osorio
Archeolgy: Roger Prieto
Photo credits: Alessandro Pepe
Photographer’s website: http://www.a-pepe.com/
Medieval European constructions that reached our times emphasized enclosure from the public space. Coincidentally, contemporary local architectural tendencies seem to emphasize enclosure.
Therefore, the project is based on the purpose of maintaining this character of the exterior shape — solid appearance closed to the exterior, giving privacy and tranquility from an increasingly overburdened world.
The project of a double bedroom, single family house comprises the creation of a new floor with a generous terrace using much of the original granite complemented by travertine and wood. The use of natural materials with the interplay of shadow and light has created a 21st-century space with respect for the past, and an eye to the future.
