Mesquita . Cardoso

House ID . Oporto

courtesy of António Mesquita . Rui Cardoso . + Origami Competitions

A house. A number of customized elements to suit every taste.

This is the theme for the standard town house in Porto – a House ID, where everyone can choose the house to suit their own purposes, selecting the number of modules, the type they want, the size, the colour.
    Since this is a type of housing fitting the Porto bourgeois town house style, with a rather narrow frontage and considerable depth, a pivotal role in the design is played by light, which is captured by the patios linked to each module. Each housing module establishes a relationship of privacy with the exterior, and has its own patio that guarantees light.
    In a period in which we are witnessing the gradual refurbishment of the Porto city centre, we sense that architects seem to have forgotten the tile: such an important and noble material, that defines the bourgeois town house. Our aim is to bring it back into use and apply it on both the main façade and the back.
    The house is also thought of as an interplay of addition and subtraction: addition to the building and subtraction from the exterior space, which aims to be an extension of the interior, creating living and leisure spaces, making use of elements from the construction of the house, such as tiles.

Project done by António Mesquita and Rui Cardoso. Scored the second prize winning in the open ideas competition organized by Origami Competitions