We say olá to a petite and pared-back apartment in Porto, Portugal’s capital of creativity.
As Portugal’s second-largest city, Porto has put itself on the map as a design powerhouse in the past decade. Shining a light on Porto’s unique design scene is local firm Pablo Pita inside the refurbished Firmeza Apartment. Previously fragmented and confused, it’s now a happy little exercise in clarity and lightness.
Pablo Pita was established in 2010 by architects Pablo Rebolo and Pedro Pita. Both came together with divergent design thinking, that work favourably under the same umbrella; a strong-conceptual approach with the filigreed intervention to meet the demands of any project.
Venturing to downtown Porto, the architects were presented with an apartment that lacked coherence and hierarchy. While it may not have seemed challenging in terms of size, it was paramount how they worked with the confined space, to make it anything but the fact. The firm resolved the dark and segmented layout into day and night zones, where one side of the apartment is the bedroom and the other groups together continuous living areas. In the middle, a curved curtain wall lines the shared spaces – a “scenic and ludic gesture” – that characterises the entire abode.
The name ‘Firmeza’ translates to a meaning of strength and solidarity – something we see very clearly in the minimal materials of the kitchen. The brass-wrapped timber bench is an arresting addition, softly glowing with the rest of cabinetry, coated in textural grey tones. Here, the mix of finishes is equally as exciting as it is easy on the eye, intermitted by a fresh crowd of indoor greenery. Sticking to a white and bright criteria, Pablo Pita has designed a mindful spot to decompress, devoid of any annoying bits and bobs. Each space is warmed by wood on wood carpentry work, and a gentle stream of natural light.
We’ll be keeping our eye on Pablo Pita, playing their part in Porto’s globally-recognised wave of design, art and architecture. The Firmeza Apartment is full of big little ideas on how to live smarter and smaller, in ways that really matter.
