armazem cowork (Oitoo)

An old warehouse in Porto, vacant for 44 years and occupying the anonymous ground floor of a residential building in a neighbourhood that, over the last decades, had been gradually abandoned by commerce and services, has been given new life. oitoo transformed it into armazemcowork and established its own studio there. The project is a reflection on the hidden potential of underused ground floors and serves as a prototype for their reactivation.

The aim is to reveal the qualities and opportunities inherent in these often-neglected spaces, countering the widespread perception that ground floors are unsafe, inhospitable, or unsuitable for working or living. When left empty, they drain vitality from the public realm: walking along a street lined with shuttered shops is a bleak experience, and this absence fuels a cycle of poor urban use, resulting in uncomfortable and lifeless streets.

The change of use — from warehouse to coworking space — seeks to restore the ground floor’s role as an active and social layer of the city. A transitional space mediates between the street and the work areas, functioning both as a threshold and as a showcase for the activities inside. At the back of the plot, an unexpected garden offers a generous outdoor setting, suitable for both work and leisure, completing the space’s reactivation.