First works: The Case of the General Silveira Building

This is also the case of the now-defunct Cubículo, formed in 2016, today divided into ATA, Atelier Tiago Antero, and Entretempos, by Vítor Preto Fernandes. Fernandes’ first project Edifício General Silveira, now already built, was selected in the current edition of the European Mies van der Rohe Awards. 

This decomplexification of young people's nominations for major awards is curious. It reveals a change in the reverence given to great careers, allowing for an expanded attention to various age groups, without the modesty of a consolidated list of built works. 

The project for General Silveira, however, starts from a mature premise, namely in terms of building in the heart of Porto's historic city centre, which makes the above arguments almost fall flat. 

Attention to the place, based on sensitivity and respect for the identity of the place, as well as the consolidation of a qualified block by stitching together the requested programme - housing - with the need to bridge the gap in the scale of the urban void to be intervened, were the main guiding principles of this project. 

Vítor Preto Fernandes describes this concern as follows: "Building in the historic centre of any city is always a highly sensitive process. One navigates between the characteristics of the existing site and the new transformation that is required of it." 

Composed of two volumes for each of the surrounding streets, with a courtyard cut out into the block, a central stairwell is the centrepiece of the project. This is not only because of its impact on the perception of the space, but also because it defines the building's elevations and all the altimetric relationships with the surroundings. The metrics of the elevations, the choice of tile pattern and colour, the distance between openings and the design and composition of the element all refer to the dynamics and tectonics of the adjoining buildings, respecting the essence of the place. 

With 4 flats per floor, the building culminates in 4 pitched roofs, on a scale that evokes the original plots. The ground floor acts as a mediating space between public and private, where commerce and housing intertwine, and the dwellings open onto the street fronts, while the more private areas enjoy the intimate character of the central courtyard. 

However, the execution of this project was not without its challenges. From the initial excavation phase, the presence of a rock mass and neighbouring foundations required significant adaptations, resulting in the loss of floor space and parking spaces, as well as a complete revision of the Stability project. Over the course of two and a half years of work, various situations emerged, some having a substantial impact. Of particular note was the need to integrate technical cabinets into the façades and the execution of the steps of the central staircase, both of which required creative and technical solutions. 

Even so, the architects attribute the success of this development to the ability to respond to the challenges encountered during construction, with the work resulting in a synthesis of the project's intentions and the demands imposed by the urban context.