Who needs a gym...

...if you have a construction site?

Last Wednesday it was finally time to let the drawings be drawings and to get our hands dirty. Literally!

The workers of our partner Envolvente started the mounting of the scaffold in the morning. By the end of the day we could marvel at the yet finished construction.

Due to safety regulation we still need to fix a net to the scaffold this Tuesday. So it is time to get up there for the first time and believe us, our dear Reboleira 42 never looked higher!

Does anyone suffer from vertigo?

While the mounting of the scaffold was well underway, Weber our main partner for the facade supplied us with material for the facade as well as for the interior walls and floors. Since, about 100 bags à 25 kg were obviously bit too much for our bikes, we were quite lucky to have Selidomus as a partner for the transportation to the building site.

Given the fact that our Rua da Reboleira is more of a small alley than a street, it was impossible to park in front of our building. Therefore, we needed to carry each bag separately from the street down to our building. Besides the driver of Selidomus and a handcar, the workers of Envolvente were kind to help us. Considering, that we could only carry one bag at a time whereas some of them even managed three, we were more than grateful. Who knows, how long it would have taken otherwise. Now the bags are neatly stacked in our neighbours ground floor, because the one in our building is as you might know non-existent. Thanks to Sr. José Loureiro, who lets us occupy space in his house.

In case you might wonder, why we did not store them in our first floors:

The week was not over yet. More material ahead!

Despite Good Friday, we headed to the building site to take delivery of the wooden beams. These laminated beams supplied by our partner Portilame are used for the reconstruction of the ground and 2^nd floor as well as the reinforcement of the 1^st floor.

If we had already considered the bags of mortar to be heavy, the beams certainly taught us better.

While we carried the few smaller beams with two to three people, we just managed the rest with the help of the Rita and Daniel. And we are talking about ONE SINGLE beam carried by the seven of us! We guess, we chose quite a symbolic day for this task, as many pedestrians commented with a chuckle. Again, the help of our Partner Topdomus who delivered and whose workers dealt with the major part of the beams was indispensable. Thanks a lot, especially since it was a public holiday.

 Beams unloaded, let's do this.

Sitting on the beams, it was all very well for us to laugh! 

…until we realized, that two people were not enough to carry one. 

Last but not least, we are going to unravel our little mystery about the colour of the windows on facebook! Our partner Gercima for the renewal of the windows dropped by to let us pick the colour, since all red are not created equal.

We asked you on Facebook: what color would you choose?

And...drum roll...we decided in favour of 3, which is RAL 3011 semigloss. Due to our partner, they will probably be ready to get installed in the beginning of May.

The winner is: No. 3 

Moreover, we do not want to withhold the latest pictures of the model from you. Sr Pacheco is doing a great job.

This week, Topdomus will start to replace the 2^nd floor and we will get the training by the technician of Weber, so we can start with the facade.

We could not be more excited.

Thanks again to all our partners, who helped us so much last week!

Everything starts falling into place due to them.

Make sure you don't miss out on our “picture of the day” this week. 

Here comes the sun!

This weeks weather was much more generous with Arrebita's Team 9 than the last one. 

So this put us in the right mood for some spring cleaning. „A tidy house, a tidy mind“, as they say. We went to the warehouse to get some shelves to organize the samples and model building material in our office. Besides, we prettied up José's meeting space: The models are displayed there now, so they don't gather dust and the wall shines in Arrebita colours thanks to the posters. Mission accomplished. 

The Tuesday started off with a very informative presentation by José and Ana from Porto Vivo – Sociedade de Reabilitação Urbana (Assosiation for urban rehabilitation). We learnt more about the reasons for the abandonment of the city centre which started already back in the 80s and its impact on life in the city. Moreover, they provided an insight into two of their latest projects. Later on a tour we had the chance to get a look at those in real life. Thanks a lot, José and Ana, for the time you offered! 

In the afternoon we had a meeting with our support group. After we spent the first week learning the ropes of the project, it was time to continue the work of previous teams. We mainly discussed the logistics for the upcoming works on the facade. Next week our partner is going to erect the scaffolding. Besides, we are going to pick up the around 100 bags à 25 kg of material for the facade with our partner for transportation. Well, we hope the weather will stay as sunny as it is right now, so we will be able to start work on site after the Easter weekend. 

Until then, we need to finish some paperwork and get acquainted with the different materials that will be used. Furthermore, we are happy to announce that the cooperation with Sr Pacheco on the 1:20 model was resumed. Eduarda and Elena are helping him. Stay tuned to get a look at the updated model soon! 

On Thursday we had the great opportunity to introduce Arrebita's work to a group of student from the TU Vienna. Being here for for only about ten days we managed to answer (almost) all of their question and felt that we know “our baby” quite well by now. It was real fun. Thanks Pedro for making sure everyone was safe on site! 

Hopefully, we see some of them again in the application phase for team 10! 

After a busy week we are now leaving work for the weekend to enjoy the sunny side of Porto.
  

Have a marvellous and sunny weekend. 
All the best, 

Team 9

Hats off to Team 9!

Arrebita Porto is happy to introduce you to the second team in 2014: Cristiano Pepi (Italy), Eduarda Vieira (Portugal), Diana Giráldez (Spain) and Elena Bejor (Italy/ Germany) aka Team 9.

After settling down in our new home and having a first glimpse at the beautiful city of Porto, we started freshly and full of energy into our first week.

The warm welcome meeting of José, Rita and Daniel was spiced with a lot of information about the project and its current status. Joana and Guilherme of Team 8 showed us around on the building site, giving us all the insider knowledge we will need to carry. In addition to that, they prepared a very well organized documentation of the extensive work they have been doing during the past three rainy months.

Moreover, we already got the chance to meet a very dear partner of Arrebita: Sr. João Pacheco, with whom we hope to finish the 1:20 model of the building soon.

Please visit his facebook page to have a look at his beautiful work!

To make sure we will be able to handle the files the previous team has left us, we received a training for the ArchiCAD, provided by our software partner Infor-Sociedade Portuguesa de Estudos e Informática Lda. We would like thank to Eng. Araújo for his time and our instructor Ricardo Dias for his patience and help.

Besides all that technical skills, we also did a team building session, which was held by THINKING-BIG. We learnt more about our fellow team members (including the support team José, Rita and Daniel) as well as ourselves through fun and games. Edite and Rita, both Portuguese psychologists, raised awareness for group dynamics and gave us very helpful methods to deal with the differences that naturally exist in every group.

Being forearmed with all that new skills, we are even more excited to be part of Arrebita and are looking forward to dive into the project on Monday!

We keep you posted!

All the best,

Team 9.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

As team 8’s time comes to an end we have welcomed Edite’s Thinking Big in our office for a final session focused on bringing closure to the group. Reflecting on the three months that have gone by, we considered and discussed what had been learnt, altered and gained, concentrating on the individual and collective experience of all the participants. Further details of the session can be seen on Thinking-Big's blog. Thank you again Edite for all the enthusiasm and energy, and for creating the space and the time to reflect upon our thoughts and actions as an evolving group.

And as the thought of what we have achieved and built together comes into place, we could not leave without thanking José, Rita, Daniel and Natalia. It was a pleasure and a privilege to get to know you all. Thank you for welcoming us with joy and care, and for the fundamental part you’ve played in this amazing professional and personal experience. All you’re advices and shared experiences will not be forgotten.

We also want to thank Sr. João Pacheco, for the insights on carpentry and Ribeira, embodying a perspective and personal experience which we got to know and understand up-close. We wish you all the best for your future endeavors and hope to see your skills and expertise shining through Arrebita’s project in the future!

Last but not least, a final thank you to all the partners that welcome and embrace Arrebita’s project. Without you, this experience would not have been made possible. Through all the meetings and discussions on-site, your expertise were fundamental to the construction of a different perspective on architecture, and for the deepening of the connection between design and reality. Without your practical contribution to our project, our possibilities would remain an abstraction.

After a week of transitions and changes, welcomes and goodbyes, we wish Team 9 and all the following teams the best of luck and courage, and that your experience can be at least as exciting as ours was! 

We’ll meet again anytime soon, and celebrate Arrebita for what it means and for what it will become in the near future!

Designing A!Plan - part 2

Hello Arrebitas! 

Here we are again to share with you the concept and image Team 8 has developed for Reboleira 42! 

Seeking a strong architectural identity for Arrebita!Porto’s pilot project, we have brought together our individual ideas and skills, which were discussed and synthesized as a whole, having in mind the materials and services provided by our partners, and considering that the network we are building is in constant growth and expansion. In this sense, we sought to approach the different levels of the building as components of an integrated system, which would come together through the use of a specific array of materials and finishes transverse to all of them.

Regarding the basement area, we have concentrated our attention in the floor finishing and the addition of two storage units to the space. Having cork as its material, we have designed a pattern for the floor that refers to the traditional Portuguese tile usage, applying and re-thinking it in an innovative way. As a strong element in the composition, the floor would work as the highlight of the room, vitality that would contrast with the clean white walls and the simplicity of the A!Wall design. As a storage unit, the A!Wall intends to establish a parallel with the A!Box, using the same modular system and materials, exploring different possible combinations and dimensions of drawers, according with the activity to be developed in this space.

The A!Box, as a representation of the Arrebita! spirit, defines and differentiates the upper floors, and its development intends to maintain the link with the materials and methods of the overall project, but allowing it to be as versatile and adaptable as possible to other buildings and circumstances. Maintaining the modular system created by the previous teams, we have tried to solve the constructive and technical challenges these specific areas represent, considering the possibility of using cork throughout the entire bathroom area and reinforcing the insulation in the modular panels as well. In this sense, the panels were simplified and their variety achieved through the different combinations in terms of colours and textures.

As for the ground floor, we have centered our attention in the entrance area, transition between Rua da Reboleira and the interior, main focus of the passers-by and first impression for the visitors. As a gathering space, the entrance accommodates a siting area complemented by a visual connection with the basement, through a light well, as well as a tile wall, which can also serve as an identifiable focal point. 

In close relationship with the ground floor we have the mezzanine, which complements it with a small area enclosed by glass panels, and can be used for different activities that require more privacy, also functioning as a light source for the rest of the floor.

As the concepts, ideas and architectural drawings start to come together and we summarize all the information for the next team, the facade preparation is also advancing, since the permit for the placement of the scaffolding in Rua da Reboleira has been made, and the testing process of Weber’s facade solutions is also in development.

We’ll keep you posted as we go! Cheers from Arrebita!Porto!