The rehabilitation of the surroundings and common areas of blocks 4, 5A and 6A of the Contumil neighbourhood is part of a wider operation to rehabilitate the existing municipal housing stock in Porto. The three blocks shown were built between 1977 and 1980 and rehabilitated between 2010 and 2015.
The main objective of the work carried out was to solve the problems associated with the behaviour of the building envelope, making demands compatible such as hygrothermal comfort, energy conservation, durability and functionality of the solutions, which required significant intervention. The operation included work on the roofs, façades and gables, glazed areas and common circulation areas, as well as the infrastructures of the common areas. The intervention also included the implementation of an intelligent ventilation system in the housing units and in the common stairwell.
In order to give the buildings back their original unity and intentionality, which had been lost due to the appropriation and customisation carried out by the residents, and to adapt them to the most up-to-date needs of use, external metallic structures were also installed to hide and support the clotheslines and the collective entrances were redesigned.