Showcasing the OUT ABOUT guided tours: General Silveira Building | EUmies Awards 2024

‘Out & About. Discovering Architecture. EUmies Awards 2024’ took place this spring in more than 30 European locations where the finalists of the award are located. Organised by Creative Europe, the Fundació Mies van der Rohe and the undisputed expertise of Guiding Architects, everyone had the opportunity to get to know the buildings and public spaces in their cities or the places they visited much better with the authors, clients and people who know them well.

General Silveira Building Guided Tour

The architects and developer presented a building that is in fact two distinct structures, divided by an irregularly shaped courtyard that creates a passageway between two streets. Each structure is composed of two sections, each topped by its own hipped roof, reflecting the original layout of the plot. The presentation highlighted how contemporary design elements have been used to reinterpret and elevate the historic character of the site.

The design of the General Silveira Building draws inspiration from a morphological model characteristic of Porto’s housing. It features four smaller-scale volumes, arranged in pairs and separated by a courtyard within the block, creating the impression of four distinct buildings. This approach pays homage to the memory of the original four sections and aligns with the typical scale of the surrounding urban environment, blending into the city’s housing typology. The goal, however, is not to replicate the architectural style of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but to create a contemporary design that reinterprets the relationships of proportion, materiality, and form.

“The guided tour was an amazing experience. It allowed us to create contact between architects, owners and some people from the community. The owner was kind enough to open his house, allowing visitors to have a different look, at more private areas. Since the inner patios are small and difficult to understand through pictures, the visit gave us the chance to explain in firsthand the conflict between narrow spaces and wider spaces, a fundamental characteristic in such an exiguous plot. All in all, I believe it is a very important initiative, mainly for its capacity to put architects closer to their communities.”
Tiago Antero, ATA Atelier

Thanks to Tiago Antero (architect) ATA Atelier; Vítor Preto Fernandes (architect); developer and contractor for their support.

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