Atelier Pedra Líquida

The spacious area where the Pedra Líquida atelier was established was built at the beginning of the 20th century to house small industrial activities typical of central Porto, such as a Printing House and a Graphic Arts Workshop, which have since been deactivated. From this previous occupation, distributed across two adjoining lots, some memories remain: the open space, once filled with rotary presses in constant operation, some printing plates, plaques with curious notices to employees, and beautiful wooden meters. These memories have not been entirely lost, as the new project evokes this preceding condition, retaining the main granite facades in the deco style, but also some of the internal spatial flexibility.

The old Printing House (left lot) will be occupied in the future by a small hotel unit with 10 rooms – the Tipografia do Conto – whose organization evokes the preceding industrial division, marked by two working wings with a central courtyard. The old Graphic Arts Workshop (right lot) houses, on its first floor, the new Pedra Líquida Atelier, which is accessed from the street via a pre-existing “shot” staircase. This culminates in the reception area, which divides the two main spaces of the Atelier – the meeting room, the former office of the Workshop, and the working room, the former “final arts” area of this small industrial complex.

In the first room, the plastered walls, stucco ceilings, and wooden partitions have been retained. In the second, the walls and ceilings have been stripped down, revealing old construction methods, visible in the dressed stone surfaces and the remaining tabique laths. These reminiscences are now joined by “recycled” elements, such as cabinets and shutters salvaged from other projects.

A new volume, detached from the walls and ceilings and lined with tiles, was designed to divide the two rooms. This volume contains all the spaces necessary for the Atelier’s functioning: bathroom, kitchen, and storeroom. Although well-defined, all these functions communicate with each other, rescuing the spacious dimension of an area that once housed a different “workshop” activity.