ground floor house serralves (Oitoo)

Following the completion of Ground Floor House and the broader Reground Porto research, oitoo was once again invited to explore the potential of an unused ground-floor space.

This time, the practice encountered a commercial unit that had remained vacant since its construction in 1996. After a quarter of a century, it became clear that alternative uses should be considered. As in many similar cases across the city, such spaces offer unexpected qualities — generous floor areas, open layouts, high ceilings, and often, a backyard waiting to be reimagined.

oitoo transformed this long-abandoned ground floor into a domestic space, reactivating a relatively quiet street and restoring permeability to the rear of the plot through a new garden. All this in close proximity to one of Porto’s key cultural landmarks — the Serralves Park and Museum.

The project prompted a deep reflection on several themes of interior architecture: mediating between public and private realms; organizing internal domestic space; addressing natural and artificial lighting within unusually deep plots; exploring finishes and materiality; and using generous ceiling heights to create an interior “topography.” Finally, it rethinks the role of the backyard — transforming it from a mere logistical zone into an “outdoor room”, an extension of the interior open to the sky.