15th March 2025
Visit to Monte da Lapa
Porto City Council and Casa da Arquitectura have teamed up once again to develop the second edition of the Porto de Arquitetura initiative, which includes six architectural visits and an international conference between March and July 2025. As in the previous year, all the events are free and open to the public, subject to prior registration. The second visit takes place on 15 March, sign up!
The selection for this new programme of guided tours includes a group of buildings in the city that are intended to be as representative as possible of the recent transformations in Porto's urban fabric.
On 15 March, at 4pm, the Monte da Lapa project, designed by Álvaro Siza, will be highlighted. The visit will be led by the architects Francisca Lopes (Ateliê Álvaro Siza) and Nuno Grande (Pedra Líquida). Book your place HERE.
Free entry, subject to capacity.
‘The project for Monte da Lapa operates on a historic site in the city of Porto. For this abandoned acropolis [...], crowned by an ingenious granite zigzag access mill’ (Siza, 2023), the promoter and author propose an occupation model that aims to reconcile the site's cultural and urban heritage with the programme requirements of the present. To quote the author, ‘the aim of this project is to return the acropolis to the city and the islands to the rest of the urban fabric, bringing together old and new residents, tourists, students and other citizens who wish to (re)discover this unique place.’
According to the promoter of the project (Pedra Líquida studio), Monte da Lapa is a ‘synthesis site’ of Porto's urban fabric. ‘Situated between downtown Porto and its western expansion, this promontory rivals the scale of the beautiful church of the same name that emerges in the surrounding urban profile.’
The programme includes the construction of a new building - a six-room tourist hostel - but above all the rehabilitation of an old mill - viewpoint - into a commercial and leisure space, as well as various housing units: student residences and houses for short, medium and long-term rentals, in which some of the former residents will settle.
Project date and completion
2021/2025 - Present
Architecture
Álvaro Siza
Address
Rua do Monte da Lapa and adjacent streets, Porto
Photographs by Pedro Cardigo
Institucional Partner
Portuguese contemporary art network
Strategic Partner
Patron
Media Partner
Official Transport
Official Photography
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