Description

The hope here was to breathe new life into a decrepit working class neighbourhood by introducing new and international architecture. Siza and Castanheira studied the structure of the quarter and reinterpreted it in their design. They borrowed building heights, materials (various colors of brick) and access type from the surroundings. The closed building form is broken at the corners to permit inner courtyard entry and space for low corner shops.

Typical access is here the “portico”; steps lead directly from the street to a landing from which all but the ground floor apartments are reached by individual interior stairways. This means that each apartment door can be seen from the street, an important safety feature for the residents.

Apartment doors open into a corridor which leads to kitchen, living room, bathroom, and a further bedroom hallway. This hallway gives access to either two or three bedrooms and a bath. The floor plans were tailored to suit the customs of practicing Muslims, as they represent the majority of the project’s residents. It was therefore necessary to provide for corridors through which women could move freely between bath and bedroom unseen by men in the living room. Hence the strict separation of living and sleeping areas and the interior door between bath and toilet. By opening sliding walls, other residents can expand the living room into the entrance hall.

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Originally published in: Oliver Heckmann, Friederike Schneider (eds.), Floor Plan Manual Housing, fourth revised and expanded edition, Birkhäuser, 2011.