In the box

Hello dear followers !

This week-end has been great : after some intense days of work and reviews we finished the drawings package ! It's finished, it's printed, it's folded, it's organized, it's even in folders, it's in the box ! It's in the bag ! Now we just have to wait and hope everything will be ok and that the work on site will start soon !

Saturday afternoon thanks to Victor we had the chance to visit the Palacio do Bolhão which is being refurbished to become a theater. It's been eight years now that they've been working on it. Eight years ! If we thought that the process in Arrebita might be slow somesometimes (waiting for approval, waiting for this and that) this case showes us that changing things just takes time and a lot of effort and perseverance, but if it's done right, it's worth it. So here we are, in this beautiful palace wondering around the richly decorated rooms with molds and paintings bringing us back in time.

Sanitana(dia)

Ever wondered where your toilet comes from? Or how that sink is made, above which you brush your teeth every day? Indeed, you kind of take them for granted, but after our visit to the Sanitana factory we can assure you: there is a whole story behind them. The entire process - from the pile of clay up to the shiny, finished sanitary ware - was explained to us while walking through the factory of which the size and scale was impressive. We felt like discovering a metropolis of sanitary ware! Toilets and sinks passing above our heads on a conveyor belt, an oven with the size of a footballfield and endless rows of toilets and sinks being molded/unmolded/finished/...  
We even saw the place where the first samples - the mother of the mother of the molds - were created by hand. How remarkable to see a man sculpturing a toilet! Duchamp would have had a great time :-)

The pile of clay where it all starts

Making the mold

Conveyor belt transporting a variety of sanitary ware from one room to another

Endless rows...

Because of the impressive variety of products the Sanitana catalogue does indeed approach the thicknes of the seventh Harry Potter book and so we had a hard time picking the most beautiful sanitary equipment to use in our building. (luxury problem!)
Enjoy your bathroom!

Full house

Now that we are entering the construction phase of the project (FINALLY!) we need to finalize all the drawings. That's why our partners from Dimscale (Lisbon) came to Porto to sit with us and help us coordinate and check our information. Together with them we went over all the drawings and in the afternoon "same same but different" with the engineers and the architects. With their help we are finishing all the drawings and closing the design project of our building.

As if we didn’t have our hands and studio full already, in the same day, we had the visit of the RTP tv crew, that came to interview our lovely Sarah and our partner Artur about their experience and commitment to the project. So, Wednesday turned out to be a pretty busy day…

Amor-im your life

Lesson of the day : how to transform cork in flooring and walls.

Better than learning from books, learning from experience. So direction Amorim Revestimentos factory ! Mariana was so kind to show us around. It was very nice to see how they make everything from the grain to the board. Now we have a clear idea of what material is going to be on our floors… cork for sure! They have so many options that we had a hard time choosing the one we wanted when we got back to the studio, but finally we did it.

cork's grain being ready for compression

extra thin layer of cork made by slicing a big block of cork that was made by pressing different corkpieces together. That's what gives this special pattern.

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cork panels of different compression modes

stack of panels

a CABA inspiration

Most of the time, people start the day with a caffeine boost. But not us at Arrebita. We need stronger : an inspiration boost ! We started the day by visiting a building which is under refurbishment, conducted by architect Marta Campos.

As soon as we entered the building we could feel the first kick : a beautiful building, full of possibilities, just like Reboleira 42, a treasure which needs to be revealed.

As we approached the first floor, we were completely awake because, right in front of our eyes, here it was : a "service box" grouping kitchen and bathroom supplies, just like our "CABA". The main structure and the different sewages were already done so we could understand better the challenges, and then it started : an explosion of pictures and questions to Marta who was kind enough to explain us all. As we continued the tour : the "service box" popped up in every floor with its own specificities and laying out according to the needs (for example the integration of stairs for the duplex apartment).

We finished the tour by 2 slices of sun in the back yard, and that's how we do it at Arrebita !

Good morning sunshine

 structure service box

integration of sewage and pipes

service box with reservation 

slices of sun