(Un)folding Nature

Maia, Portugal

Housing

5.900 m²

2021

Unfolding Nature is a residential proposal in Vermoim, Maia, located on a 5,900 m² plot within a transitional area between dense urban development and low-density housing with private gardens. The project begins with this dual condition and asks how different ways of living can coexist within a single architectural system.

High-density apartment living and low-density individual housing have traditionally been treated as opposing models. The proposal seeks to reconcile their respective qualities: privacy, proximity to nature, and individual identity on one hand; shared infrastructure, reduced maintenance, and collective life on the other.

The development is structured as a permeable ensemble organised around a continuous green system. Semi-public landscape areas extend across the southern part of the plot and rise in elevation, establishing a layered relationship among private terraces, shared spaces, and surrounding open areas. This green infrastructure operates at multiple scales, from individual outdoor extensions to collective recreational spaces.

The volumetric composition responds carefully to the neighbouring streets and properties. The building’s rotation optimises solar exposure and strengthens views towards the natural surroundings, while maintaining a human scale at the edges of the site. The intervention transforms what was previously an urban void into an articulated residential environment with a clear spatial identity.

Housing variety is central to the proposal as different typologies are introduced to respond to diverse household profiles, not only in terms of apartment size but also through differentiated terrace configurations and private outdoor spaces. Each dwelling maintains a degree of autonomy while remaining part of a shared structural and environmental system. Balconies and terraces are designed as extensions of interior life, improving natural light, ventilation, and environmental performance. The integration of green areas across façades and open spaces reinforces continuity between architecture and landscape, supporting both social interaction and climatic comfort.