Vist to Micampus Porto Tower

 

Project and completion date: 2017-2023 

 

Architectural author: OODA

 

Address: Rua Manuel Pacheco de Miranda, 105 e 113

 

 

Intended for student accommodation, with an area of 9350 square metres, the Hoso Tower is located on the largest university campus in the city of Porto. Integrated between isolated large-scale orthogonal volumes facing the road structures that cross the city, it fills an urban void created by the various discontinuities associated with the insertion of the Internal Beltway in Porto.

 

 

The cylindrical volumetry allows for optimised spatial organisation and flexibility, reducing circulation areas to a minimum, increasing the saleable area and resolving typological versatility in a simple way. The modules concentrate the infrastructures in the centre of the circumference, adjacent to the common accesses, and open up the living spaces to the outside, free from any constraints, with 360-degree views.

 

 

With a prefabricated concrete structure, all the parts are produced in the factory and assembled and installed on site, reducing construction costs and time by 30 per cent. The installation of each floor took approximately one week.

 

 

By using prefabricated construction methods and systems, unforeseen results are minimised, which increases the quality and precision of the construction. The parts were designed so that they could be easily grouped together, which reduced transport and therefore minimised waste and the carbon footprint.

Biography

 

 

Founded in 2010, OODA emerged after stays in Europe, namely London and Rotterdam, and the contrast between these realities and the Portuguese one, with the aim of challenging and transforming the traditional architectural model in the practice and promotion of architecture. With an approach that is both local and global, the studio aims to publicise regional architecture internationally, while promoting international ideas in Portugal, and currently has 14 projects underway. The working method results from combining a wide range of references, narratives and formal languages, converging to express a considered and meaningful opinion about the architectural process in all its aspects. Led by Diogo Brito, Rodrigo Vilas-Boas, Francisco Lencastre, João Jesus and Julião Pinto Leite, the team is currently made up of more than 50 collaborators of different nationalities. The projects developed cover different scales and programmes, from single residences to large buildings and hotels, interior design to institutional buildings and masterplans. OODA recently expanded its facilities to include two offices, one in Matosinhos, Porto, and the other in Lisbon, justified by the investments and developments underway in the south of the country. In the near future, we intend to expand internationally.