Portuguese firm MASS lab, led by architects Diogo Rocha, Duarte Fontes, and Lourenço Rodrigues, has been announced as the winner of the Ideas Competition for the Former Monte Pedral Barracks, organized by the Porto City Council, Portugal. The winning design combines a new network of public spaces with a variety of housing typologies, forming a sort of archipelago in the middle of the city: a set of urban islands that structure the urban fabric, where the relationship of proximity prioritizes the space in-between—a space that will be filled by time and people.
"How can we generate urban continuity in which inhabitants can move gradually between one area and another? How can we encourage a multidimensional space of intensity and diversity? How can we achieve a public space full of parks, squares, plazas, and defined by a diverse urban program?" the architects ask. Seeking to answer these questions, the project is based on a morphological balance between public and private, a diversity of uses, services, and typologies, and housing density.
The plan defines lines of continuity with the surroundings, completing the urban fabric to the west and defining the street layouts to the north and south. To the west, the urban front is defined by the heritage building—the former military barracks—which in turn will be expanded to the north and restructured in the south wing to integrate a student residence.
The fragmentation of the volumes adds dynamism and porosity to the complex. This operation is guided by relationships of alignment and harmony with the surroundings. Consequently, it is possible to access the interior of the block, offering a network of public spaces with varied characteristics.
How to Generate Public Space?
The design of high-quality public spaces with diverse features and functions was the main focus and driver of the project. Analyzing and categorizing Porto's various public spaces—plazas, squares, gardens, parks, and viewpoints—helps understand the distributional logic and the relationship of proximity between spaces and dynamic zones, making it possible to design a connection network. Monte Pedral is currently disconnected from this network, as no public spaces can be identified in this area.
The spaces identified on the map stem from the historical need to formalize voids. Due to their exceptional value within the urban fabric, these spaces serve as landmarks for orientation within the city. Functions vary according to the specific needs of each era, allowing for versatility in their uses. While there is a clear formal definition in large-scale public spaces, it is in the informal spaces (usually smaller in size) where the sense of hospitality and neighborhood resides.
These spaces are generally loosely defined in formal terms, as they develop organically. They adapt to the natural topography of the city and provide spaces for common use. In this sense, the design seeks a symbiosis between formal definition—characteristic of large spaces—and the informal feel of naturally developing spaces.
Porto's identity is deeply rooted in its geographical and topographical situation. The built environment adapts to the terrain, and mechanisms are developed to enable the appropriation of space. Thus, the project sought to synthesize a set of tools to address level changes, associated with different functions according to their spatial configuration and relationship to the overall complex.
What Is the New Housing Standard?
The adopted forms are not directly associated with a conventional housing typology, but rather with the notion of a module—a repeating unit that forms a whole. This unit, a three-meter square, generates the regulating grid for the entire complex. The multiplication and combination of this unit lead to the successive creation of apartments, shared spaces, collective courtyards, and, ultimately, public spaces.
Flexibility, sharing, and identity are the basis for future housing production. A flexible model must consider values such as spatial reconfiguration and the possibility of expansion or reduction. The housing models are identified by their type of access (vertical, gallery, direct, or hybrid), and the buildings forming the complex are distributed heterogeneously, responding individually to the relationship between interior and exterior or public and private.
How to Reestablish the Urban Neighborhood?
The relationship between public and private occurs progressively. The public spaces are characterized by different programs and functions, serving both the local community and the city.
Considering contemporary housing standards, there is an increasing need for shared spaces for daily or sporadic use. When integrated into the architecture, these spaces considerably increase the residents' quality of life. The housing unit can thus be expanded through functional spaces (laundries, kitchens, workspaces, etc.) as well as programs outside the residential norm (leisure areas, game rooms, event spaces, etc.).
Project Credits
Location: Monte Pedral Barracks, Porto
Client: Porto City Council
Type: Open international competition, 1st prize
Category: Urban design, Master plan, and Architecture
Size: 52,000 m2
Architecture: MASS lab
Engineering: A400
Images: MASS lab
This article was written by Romullo Baratto. The translation is powered by AI.
