Architecture is often the quietest yet most perceptive narrator of a city. Silent on the surface, it nonetheless carries the traces of memory in its very fabric. On Rua de Santa Catarina in Porto, a former Civil Court building has been reimagined by MASSLAB as 16 apartments. The transformation of Vila Catarina is not about erasure but about rewriting through architectural editing, allowing the past to coexist with a new domestic reality.
The street-facing façade has been carefully restored, with its original stonework preserved and complemented by pale blue ceramic tiles that subtly recall the early 20th-century character of the building, enabling its historical image to re-emerge. In contrast, the rear elevation has been reconfigured with a geometric second skin, replacing the previous patchwork of additions and technical clutter. This new layer incorporates balconies and extends the living areas toward a central courtyard and swimming pool, establishing a clearer distinction between the public frontage and the private realm.
Inside, the layout takes inspiration from early 20th-century Portuguese townhouses, where rooms followed one another in sequence without corridors. MASSLAB adapts this distributive logic for contemporary living, so that circulation emerges as spatial flow and transition rather than simple passage. Vaulted ceilings define the character of each room, their proportions shifting according to use: more contained in the bedrooms, more expansive in the social spaces. This variation establishes a subtle yet pronounced rhythm, endowing daily life with a sense of ceremony.
The design language extends into fine detail. Subtle variations in geometry and the layered articulation of the vaults give each unit a distinct spatial topography. Everyday movement through the apartments unfolds as a sequence of extensions, transitions, and thresholds, transforming ordinary routines into a continuous and rhythmic spatial experience.
Vila Catarina does not regard its predecessor as a ruin but as a material for critical reuse. Through an architectural practice of reading, editing, and extension, MASSLAB demonstrates how existing volumes can be adapted to accommodate contemporary housing needs in a context of limited urban land and resources. More than a renovation, the project is a response to both city and time, juxtaposing traces of the past with new ways of inhabiting, and suggesting new possibilities for dwelling.
Principal Designer | Lourenço Menezes Rodrigues
Participate | Fábio Teixeira Ferreira / Pedro Machado / Marta Vaz
Character of Space | Residential Apartments
Gross Floor Area | 2,650 ㎡
Engineering | NCREP
Location | Porto, Portugal
