Nevogilde Housing

Oporto, Portugal

Housing

13.383 m²

2025

Located in Nevogilde, within UOPG 1, the proposal is structured around the creation of a new urban axis connecting Praça do Império to Avenida da Boavista, combined with the renaturalisation of the open section of the Nevogilde stream. Together, these operations establish a continuous green corridor linking the coast, the river and the city, reinforcing Nevogilde’s role within Porto’s wider ecological and urban structure.

Rather than imposing a uniform architectural solution, the project adopts a territorial approach that reads Nevogilde as a layered landscape shaped by different moments of urbanisation. Historic radial patterns, modern orthogonal grids and contemporary expansions coexist here, producing varied densities, scales and relationships between built form and open space. The proposal responds by preserving the predominant morpho-typologies of the surrounding neighbourhood while introducing a sequence of public and semi-public spaces that structure collective life and enhance everyday use.

The challenge of accommodating more than 20,000 square metres of housing across plots with diverse orientations and boundaries becomes an opportunity to rethink conventional residential models. Each building is treated as a specific response to its site conditions, while remaining part of a coherent whole. Solar exposure, topography, views, prevailing winds and acoustic constraints inform volumetric decisions, ensuring that each intervention establishes a precise relationship with landscape, climate and context.

This logic results in a family of distinct architectural approaches, collectively described as an atlas of solutions derived from natural and geographical references. In the central plots, the Valley buildings are shaped by stepped horizontal planes that recede progressively, forming a constructed valley that maximises solar access and generates generous terraces at every level. Vegetation is integrated throughout, reinforcing privacy while extending domestic life outdoors. Facades alternate between large glazed surfaces and opaque planes, incorporating materials derived from marble waste or custom ceramic elements, depending on the specific building.

Across all interventions, the project treats landscape as a structuring element. Public green spaces, private gardens and planted terraces form a continuous system that mediates density, supports biodiversity and reinforces Nevogilde’s identity as a neighbourhood where urban life and nature remain closely intertwined. The Nevogilde Atlas thus frames residential development as a process rooted in place, where architectural diversity emerges from careful reading of territory rather than repetition or formal uniformity.