Rita Portela Personal Portfolio

PORTFOLIO r i t a

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2013 | 2021

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2019 MACAU

COMPETITION

M A C A U A R C H I T E C T S A S S O C I AT I O N T HE A RCHITECTURAL D ESIGN C OMPETITION FOR Y OUNG A RCHITECTS 2019

In August 2019 the Macau Architects Association released the competition for Rua de Cinco de Outubro Neighborhood: Revitalization and Redevelopment Concept Design Competition.

The program was mainly centered in the revitalization of one of four zones of the street. The area had been a hub of commerce in the past due to the presence of trade and tourism arriving by ferry to the inner harbour.

After losing this function the low rise buildings remained and some were abandoned. This project meant to revive some of the most iconic ones by giving them cultural and educational functions, together with the creation of “gates” made with wood structure at the entrance points of the street to mark the “New Cultural District“.

This project was made in partnership with Architects Associates Macau and won The Honorable Prize.

COMPETITION FINAL POSTER

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PROPOSAL BLOW-UP AND RENDERS

2020 K I R I B AT I

COMPETITION

This proposal seeks to address the challenge issued by creating a multi-layered modular approach that allows for flexibility and adaptability to several conditioning factors.

Among these is the fact that Kiribati is a system of atolls that lay in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. As a consequence this nation is especially vulnerable to the threat of the raise in oceanic levels. The development of a concept had to take into account the possibility of being deployed in various conditions: from being integrated in coordination with existing islands or as a standalone floating solution in the middle of the sea.

Also, any concept would have to deal with the rich history and traditions of its people by respecting and preserving meaningful structures from a cultural and societal point of view and integrating these endogenous autochthonous buildings into a contemporary design approach.

KIRIBATI FLOATING HOUSES

Taking these principles as generating guidelines for the proposal, the design starts from a baseline module that consists in an equilateral triangular platform from which all the consequent elements are developed. When combined in groups of six, they form a hexagonal platform which, themselves can be articulated with itself infinitely. As such, as a concept this permits an adaptable and site conscious approach that works at multiple scales: either as a standalone baseline hexagonal group or as a sequence of groups inserted within a specific site.

The Triangle as Baseline Modular Solution With sides of 25m, by itself the Triangle has three distinct functions: -as a empty platform that works as public space or passage for pedestrian circulation; -as a resource platform to cultivate food (vegetables and algae) or wood resources (bamboo, palm tree, etc), hoard animals, fish-farming; -as a platform for the housing building which accommodates common spaces in the Ground Floor (Kitchen, Living Room, Common Patios) and eight bedrooms in the First Floor.

Hexagonal Module It is composed of six Baseline Modules in multiple combinations as per the end user and/or site needs. There’s room for adapting these modules to the specificities of the community it would be serving even from a larger scale economy perspective by allowing the incorporation of resource platforms in proportion.

public space / passage / resource

housing module

hexagonal module

The proposal aims to incorporate sustainable systems and techniques throughout all cycles from production to maintenance. As many materials as possible would be sourced from within the community by the use of the resource modules.

ground floor plan

first floor plan

roof plan

The House structure system is composed of an exoskeleton built in Bamboo that would be cultivated and grown in the resource modules.

maneaba module

section

Inner Courtyards double ceiling height

Public Areas

Sea View

Bedroom

Sea View

Access to Patios

View to public areas

Sea View between models

COMPETITION FINAL POSTER

YOUNG ARCHITECTS COMPETITIONS K I R I B AT I F L O AT I N G H O U S E S

The Kiribati Floating Houses Competition was an ideas competition released by an association that aims to promote the works of young architects.

The program required an intervention on the Pacific Islands of Kiribati in order to help the population adapt to the rise of sea levels and global warming. Our proposal seeked to address the challenge issued by creating a mulÌ >ÞiÀi` `Õ >À >««À >V Ì >Ì > Üi` v À yiÝ L ÌÞ > ` adaptability to several conditioning factors: from being integrated in coordination with existing islands or as a stan`> i y >Ì } Ã ÕÌ Ì i `` i v Ì i Ãi>] «ÀiÃiÀÛing meaningful structures from a cultural and societal point of view and integrating these endogenous autochthonous buildings into a contemporary design approach.

/ i «À « Ã> v VÕÃi` y >Ì } `Õ >À ÕÃ } system in a triangular base, that could be combined as an hexagon when in its full capacity. The strategies for tackling the basic needs spanned from traditional methods of water collection and environmental friendly waste management structures.

This competition was made in partnership with Architects Associates Macau and two other independent architects.

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MODEL PICTURES AND RENDER OF THE PROPOSAL

SAMPLE OF BOOKLET PAGES

2014 I TA LY

TISSELLI STUDIO ARCHITETTI PROJECTS & COMPETITIONS

During the six month internship at tissellistudioarchitetti I had the opportunity to participate actively in the many phases of an architecture project. Apart from the regular Ü À y Ü >Ì Ì i wÀ ] ` ÀiVÌi` Ì Àià `i Ì > >ÀV ÌiVÌÕÀi > ` à i «ÕL V ë>Vi «À iVÌÃ] Ì i wÀ > à i }>}i` Ì i Guggenheim Helsinky competition and the World Health Organisation headquarters competition.

FAMILY HOUSE IN THE COUNTRISIDE, CESENA, ITALY (BUILT)

LOGO STUDY FOR GUGGENHEIM HELSINKY, FINLAND (COMPETITION)

APPARTMENT RENOVATION IN THE HISTORICAL CITY CENTER CESENA, ITALY (BUILT)

PANELS FOR GUGGENHEIM HELSINKY, FINLAND (COMPETITION)

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) HEADQUARTERS GENÉVE, SWIZERLAND (COMPETITION)

PORTFOLIO r i t a

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2013 PORTUGAL

ISCTE - IUL R E V I TA L I Z E A M O R E I R A S - T H E T R A M In the past years, despite its topography, Lisbon has seen the number of urban bike riders’ rise. In this city, there has been a disinvestment in the old tram lines, the ones who once transported passengers from the lower to the highest places.

This project rehabilitates the old tram lines (using the Santos-Amoreiras line as case-study), and integrates in it the most recent urban mean of transport, the bicycle. It was therefore designed a bike support inspired on the old tram structures, nowadays inexistent. With these supports the trams would be able to carry along this hill around seven bikes.

2013 PORTUGAL

ISCTE - IUL R E V I TA L I Z E A M O R E I R A S - T H E A Q U E D U C T

Simultaneously with the rehabilitation of the tram line, it was also proposed to rehabilitate the Aqueduct, which intersected the tram line in Amoreiras’ zone. We designed a funicular which would travel between the seven stations, inside the Aqueduct channels. Each station would have an elevator to connect the aqueduct level with the several street levels. Finally, the lost function of “bridge” across the Alcântara valley would be recovered, connecting the i } L ÕÀ `Ã v -iÀ>w > > ` LiÀdade located on the opposite side of the valley.

2013 PORTUGAL

The streets that host the new tram line would be renewed as well. The asphalt would be substituted by white granite called pedras salgadas, and the urban equipment as street lamps and tram stops also replaced.

These new elements emerge vÀ Ì i y À > ` `À>Ü > Ã houette and bike racks would be attached to the tram stops. All these elements would be pre-fabricated and placed where needed.

ISCTE - IUL URBAN EQUIPMENT

FOR

AMOREIRAS

2013 PORTUGAL

ISCTE - IUL HOUSING IN AMOREIRAS

In the very end of the Santos-Amoreiras line, there is an empty city block, a void, hidden from the city by a wall. This terrain, once a military property, is today abandoned. With a program of four houses, urban vegetable-gardens program and cowork space program, it was attempted to give new life to this void, creating interior crossings to reconnect it with the city.

housing cowork area urban vegetable-gardens service area storage facilities green area playground

2013 PORTUGAL

ISCTE - IUL URBAN EQUIPMENT - HOUSING

IN

AMOREIRAS

For the space between the old wall and the new, a moving pergola was designed to provide a sheltered space along the walkway of the garden.These structures slide along the wooden deck on rails, creating moving shadows that can be grouped providing a more dynamic green area.

0

50cm

2013 PORTUGAL

ISCTE - IUL I NTERIOR D ESIGN E LEMENTS - H OUSING

IN

A MOREIRAS

0 0

0.32m

50cm

The physical space for the four houses results from an extension of the new wall, therefore a blind facade would appear at the street level and behind it, there would be the private areas of the houses, “packed” in boxes hanging from the ceiling. These boxes are illuminated and ventilated through the skylights above them. >V ÕÃi Ü Õ ` >Ûi ÌÃ Ü Ü>Þ Ì Ài>V Ì i wÀÃÌ y À] Ü Ì ÌÃ Ü ` v ÃÌ> ÀV>Ãi° Two examples are presented here: one staircase (above) in spiral, allowing access at two different levels, like the branches of a tree. The other staircase (below) is designed as also a bookcase that slides in rails, provid } ë>Ì > `Þ > VÃ Ì i }À Õ ` y À >Ài>ð

2013 ISCTE - IUL GUINEA-BISSAU AMÍLCAR CABRAL RESEARCH CENTER In the context of the celebrations of the 90th anniversary from the birth of Amílcar Cabral, I was challenged to, with no in situ experience, design a Research Center for Bafatá, Cabral’s hometown, in Guinea-Bissau. Dealing with distance and the unknown, I opted to implant the project at the abandoned playground, near the old market. The“project”-public space was built with indigenous materials that could be easily sourced in the area. Starting from the standard dimensions of a container, I designed wooden “boxes” that would house the books, computers and other delicate devices.

These boxes would be the units that would open or close the functional areas.

The strict grid Ã Õ wi` LÞ the “ceiling”, made with the local fabrics with each functional area of the studies centre corresponding to a different pattern.

TRANSPORTATION

MATERIALS

>wâj > Ü ` wicker panels

auditórium formation center research and studies center

canvas (of indigenous textures) bicicle wheels stainless steel

archive and documentation center

2013 GERMANY

T E C H N I S C H E U N I V E R S I TA E T D A R M S TA D T T AMERA - L IVING IN A LENTEJO 0-45 DEGREES

In the middle of Alentejo, Portugal, a very dry and arid region, there is a group of people, originated from the Austro-German regions that started a project called Tamera. There, they live with unique society models. Through a partnership between ISCTE and the University of Darmstadt, they became the client of several architecture students. With a vast program of almost a small village inside the Tamera area and inspired on the indigenous constructions of the suthern Alentejo, I designed a communitarian set

of buildings.

With walls built with adobe bricks, and structures of wood, the whole system was of an authoctonous nature, embodying the principles of zero environmental impact.

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