Blurring the boundaries between public and private. Aurora 10 Building by Atelier Tiago do Vale

Project description by Atelier Tiago do Vale

Designing in suburban housing developments is, in general, an urbanistic challenge of considerable scale: their layouts rarely stem from overarching strategic intentions for the city, limiting its ability to consolidate its identity and urban characteristics or enhance them, both in terms of urban performance and the quality of life it provides.

The result is, in most cases, the construction of buildings that do not establish relationships with their surroundings, fail to create meaningful places and do not produce the structured, organic streets we recognise in consolidated and successful urban areas.

The Aurora 10 Building aims to mitigate some of the limitations of this type of development by reinterpreting the design of the plot in such a way that, on one hand, responds to the characteristics of the surrounding area and its needs, seeking existing visual alignments, and, on the other hand, paves the way for the establishment of continuities, richer relationships with present and future interventions, and, above all, participates in and designs public space.

Although the programme requires an extremely rationalised design, the treatment of the main façade breaks the monolithic feel with a delicate play of light and shadow that forms the backdrop to the street, suggesting vertical panels that simultaneously disrupt the abstract horizontal gesture of the balconies -creating an intriguing contradiction between these two formal devices, which changes with the light: sometimes more subtle, other times more assertive- while also referencing the vertical rhythms characteristic of the dense streets of consolidated city centres.

The “public space” of the suburbs has generally consisted of the leftover areas between scattered buildings: a situation that has not produced qualified city.

As a result, it was crucial to propose a building aware of its context and capable of actively participating in the urban space, either by extending its multifunctional programme into the transitional spaces between public and private domains, or by valuating those shared spaces, blurring the boundaries between the public realm associated with the street and the private space within the plot.

The sidewalks that border the street extend into a covered commercial gallery, culminating in a northern access point configured simultaneously both as stairs and an auditorium, providing a space for rest and gathering, which a Jacaranda tree will shelter in time.

This design serves as the foundation of the theme from which the staircase of the northern block emerges, creating a landmark (which defines the building’s identity but expresses itself at an urban scale) that draws cues from the neighbouring constructions and crowns the long street that ends at its steps, mindful of the context and responding appropriately to its surroundings.

With a highly systematised plan, the structure presents a simple and regular rhythm.

This approach, together with a central focus on efficiency in the use of building areas, avoided complex geometries and lost space in circulation, maximising the usable space designated for the primary functions.

Thus, it was possible, in particular, to provide the three-bedroom apartments with an additional space, without a predefined function, which can be appropriated in a variety of ways.

The common areas were treated with the utmost dignity, as they represent the first contact both visitors and residents have with the building.

Inspired by the "middle-of-the-house" concept of Azorean vernacular architecture, the three-bedroom apartments feature a generous space related to the entrance and interior circulation, without a specific function, which can be adapted for various uses: study space, workshop, library, office, or even -through additional partitioning, separating the entrance area from the distribution space for the bedrooms- storage, laundry area, pantry, closet, among others.

The use of this space is only limited by imagination, and it can meet supplementary domestic needs, accommodate residents’ hobbies, small home businesses, or even transient and occasional needs that cannot be satisfied elsewhere in the apartment.

This flexibility, which goes beyond the strictly functional, is a strong precursor of quality of life in housing.

The spaces feature elementary geometries, allowing for simple and efficient occupation.

The finishes are executed using domestic woods (oak and chestnut) and domestic (Estremoz) marble in the wet areas.

The projecting balconies and recessed glazed openings allow for an integral glass façade, making the most of the open view while guaranteeing privacy and minimising solar gains

The Aurora 10 Building aims to imbue the street with a more urban and integrated character, using light and form to transform the lot's framework into a rich, abstract, and remarkably lightweight object, resting on a base of locally quarried granite.

Through a design that is both technical and organic, simple and complex, the importance of incorporating the street and the building is emphasised, ensuring that the proposal is not merely about it existing, but also offers something to the street, mindful of the scales of cities and neighbourhoods, and capable of leaving cues for the discussion and design of future urban interventions.