Project Site Alexio
Meet the team
Archana Menath India
Faranak Khodaee Iran Mansi Galiawala India
Professor Da Cunha Bastos Rodrigues Rebelo Camilo Alison AuroraRosa
Assistant Kiana Jalali
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Paola Hagei Sabrah Barry
Porto, Portugal
Course and Department Architecture Design Studio II Sustainable Architecture and Landscape Design Politecnico di Milano
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Salah Mohanad Egypt Satyasom Rout India Sharvari Kelkar India
The mood of Porto varies in accordance with the sun and the rain. On days when the sun is absent, the gray granite tinges the city with sadness. I take on the color of Porto each day. When there is sun, Porto awakes as cheerful as a teenager. the lights of the houses climbing up the other bank of the river. There is a broad promenade facing the sea and lower, close to the beach, esplanades are open all year round. My life consists of rocks, sand, sea, and gulls.
Content Porto with Alice Branco 4 5 page page
9 page First impression and idea
10 11 page page Concept development Concept development
12 13 page page Concept development Concept development
To begin with, the site developed with the core idea of exchange, the historical importance of trade or what was taken and replaced with ingrained into every aspect of the site. The axis dictates the direction of the connection between the city and the river. This gateway from the river elucidates the idea of symmetry and the importance of water and greenery. An amalgamation of nature, glass and concrete, this project in Alexio is a landmark boasting both man’s engineering genius reaching a height and touching people in materiality on a human scale.
14 15 page page Master plan 1:2000
page Section 1:1000 19
a third landscape secluded from the city
01 THE BIOTOPE
The biotope is a third landscape to this project, a biodiversity hotspot away from the reach of humans, disconnected physically from land, but connected visually with a line of underwater lights. This island with its lush greenery attracts migratory birds along the Duro River and is a secluded home to many endemic bird species. The island is a powerhouse for the project, with solar trees sprouting between the greenery. The trough-like nature of the structure gives an impression of a floating island.
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page page Biotope section (1:250) and bird species Biotope plan (1:250) and plant species 24 25
The congregation of the three important axes in our project, the main street (x), the axis of the water through the project (y), and the glass obelisk (z) is the origin, the one point of arrival. The piazza has the roads and tram lines crossing this pedestrian-friendly open space, a social breakout space for Alexio. The water pavilion beneath is an experience of volumes, of an ever-changing panoramic view of the city of Porto across Duro.
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THE ORIGIN the parallel worlds
page page Plan ( 1:250) Section (1:250) 28 29
THE ARRIVAL
the stairway to the water pavilion
The Arrival marks the entrance to the water pavilion, a glass pavilion, made to stretch man’s engineering of the material glass. Designed to float on a bed of water is the stairwell to the tunnel. One experiences the sudden change in volume while entering the tunnel and whilst exiting the vast yet confined space. Strategically located, this glass structure is now a landmark for Alexio.
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page Plan and Section (1:200) 35
04 THE HAMLET CO HOUSING FOR STUDENTS AND THE ELDERLY
The door to housing is a co-housing space for dependent elderly and the young. A space carved out to accommodate the two age groups, where they could interact and exchange experiences and wisdom. Equipped with flexible spaces and movable partition walls, the living areas can be transformed into private units, as per requirement and to accommodate the post-Covid space design. The Hamlet is a village of closely knit people who can co-depend and co-inhabit the apartment. The commonplace is an along-the-axis and a rather quiet place for activities focused on the elderly.
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page page Plan (1:250) Exploded view of the apartment 38 39
Section (1:250) page 41
page page Exploded view of one unit Detail of wall section (1:50) 42 43
THE PORTA the door to the city
The portal to the city is a large wall that creates a visual barrier, one could access the project only through a vertical slit that splits this wall in two. The axis of symmetry is best explained with a sight through the slit. The porta is also a water reservoir that is the source of water that runs down the axis. The tank collects rainwater runoff from the roads and the upper hills, treats it and then is channelled to the origin of the project where it is poured into the river where it belongs.
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page page Plan and Section (1:200) Elevation (1:200) and details 48 49
CO-USE W/T RE-USE the reviving of the old structures on site
The project revolves around the connection of the past to the present, and trade that happened over time, the river is the constant reminder of the past, and so the old unused broken buidligs on site. The rennovation of these structures to a co working space and a social hub, would be an apt function to an industrial space like this. The structures would now be able to the host the younger crowd for work and sports.
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page page Exploded view od Re-use space Plan (1:500) and section (1:250) 52 53
rest pod and street lamps
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07 LANDSCAPE ELEMENTS
Details of site elements 55
