Casa da Arquitectura Centro Português de Arquitectura

Porto de Arquitetura
Houses in Praça de Liège and Rua do Monte da Luz (Rua Direita Programme)

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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 third event takes place on 12 April and is aimed at the Casas na Praça de Liége (4pm) and the Monte da Luz street / Rua Direita programme (5pm). Registrations are already sold out.

The selection for this new guided tour programme includes a number of buildings in the city that are intended to be as representative as possible of the recent transformations in Porto's urban fabric.

On 12 April, at 4pm, the Casa na Praça de Liége and, at 5pm, the Rua Direita Programme will be highlighted with a guided tour by the designers, Luísa Penha and Gorete Matias + Miguel Mesquita, respectively. Registrations are already sold out.

Free entry, subject to capacity.

Designed by the architect Luísa Penha, these two single-family houses with an indoor swimming pool seem to summarise the entire history of architecture in two archetypes: the gable-roofed house with a symmetrical elevation; and the modern building with open spans and exposed concrete. But in both cases, the formal sophistication and constructive detail goes beyond the archetype of our imagination. Home comfort stands out and the atmosphere created is refined, almost art deco, which explains the elegance and cleanliness of the interior staircases, or the jagged meeting of the jambs of two sliding doors. The proximity of this work to Rua do Monte da Luz and other adjoining streets illustrates the characteristics of the Municipality of Porto's Rua Direita Programme and its impact on the city's urban fabric.

The Rua Direita Programme is a municipal programme for the thorough rehabilitation of around a hundred streets in Porto, with the aim of restoring conditions for circulation and enjoyment of the public space, corresponding to a 15-kilometre stretch of intervention. Carried out by Porto City Council, through the municipal company GO Porto, the project aimed to upgrade Rua do Monte da Luz, seeking to optimise its conditions of use, taking into account the various modes of mobility and the needs of Porto residents, in a context of mostly narrow streets. The intervention was tailored to the profile of each area, seeking to maximise its usefulness, not forgetting to promote conditions for greater enjoyment of the spaces.

Project date and completion

Houses on the square in Liège

Project date and completion

2009 - 2012

Architecture

Luísa Penha

Address

Praça de Liège 255, Porto

Rua Direita Programme 2022 - 2024

Project date and completion

2022 - 2024

Architecture