Aurora

Guimarães, Portugal

Housing

1.510 m2

2025

Aurora is located within a dense and consolidated area of Guimarães, where residential life coexists closely with everyday urban activity. The project responds to this condition by working with scale, alignment and proximity, shaping a building that supports daily routines without asserting itself as a singular object. Its architecture is guided by continuity with the surrounding fabric, addressing the domestic character of the street through measured volume and careful articulation.

The building respects the scale of the street and the morphology of the surrounding blocks, establishing a clear volumetric presence that integrates naturally into the urban context. Its form is compact and legible, allowing for an efficient internal organisation while maintaining a restrained and durable architectural language.

Housing is organised around a set of varied typologies designed to accommodate different ways of living, from smaller units suited to individual or couple occupancy to larger apartments capable of supporting family life. Across all typologies, the layout prioritises clarity and proportion. Social spaces are placed at the centre of the domestic organisation, with living, dining and kitchen areas articulated as continuous and flexible environments, well connected to natural light and exterior space. More private areas are carefully buffered, ensuring acoustic comfort and spatial separation.

Whenever possible, the dwellings extend towards the exterior through balconies, patios or small private outdoor areas. These spaces are treated as integral parts of the domestic environment, allowing everyday activities to expand beyond the interior and reinforcing the relationship between house, climate and city.

The building’s circulation is compact and legible, serving a limited number of dwellings per floor and ensuring ease of orientation and use. Vertical access is clearly defined and dimensioned to guarantee universal accessibility, reinforcing the project’s emphasis on inclusivity and long-term usability.

Material and constructive choices follow the same principle of restraint. Facades balance solid and permeable elements to regulate light, privacy and thermal comfort, while maintaining a consistent and timeless expression. The constructive system is rational and efficient, supporting good environmental performance, durability and reduced maintenance requirements over time.

Status

Ongoing, Private

Client

Alfa Atântica

Design team

Filipa Roma Torres

Diogo Barbosa

Inês Pinto

Asia Spuri Zampetti

Diogo Sousa Rocha

Duarte Ramalho Fontes

Consultants

JIM BUILDING

STEAMSAT

NCREP

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