Porto Arts Club

The existing structure was marked by compartmentalisation and disjointed circulation. Rooms operated in isolation, and transitions between spaces lacked clarity. The project begins by working through this condition rather than replacing it. Circulation is restructured to establish continuity, thresholds are recalibrated, and latent spatial relationships are brought into alignment. The intervention restores legibility while preserving the depth of the building’s past.

The new programme establishes a private club dedicated to culture, art, and contemporary forms of sociability. Exhibition spaces, areas for gathering, and more reserved rooms are organised as a gradual sequence, allowing different degrees of openness and retreat. The architectural language remains restrained, relying on proportion, alignment, and calibrated transitions rather than formal emphasis.

An integral part of the project is the incorporation of residential spaces for artists in residence. These units are not isolated from the club’s activities but embedded within its spatial system, enabling temporary inhabitants to live and work within the same architectural framework as exhibitions and events. The coexistence of cultural production and domestic occupation reinforces the building’s role as a sustained environment for artistic exchange.