Located in the riverside area of Porto, Descobertas Boutique Hotel occupies one of the oldest medieval buildings of the Mercantile Industrial Society, which had been previously restored in terms of structure for a more modern use. The transformation into a hotel represented an investment of the Kauri Group in the city of Porto.
Developed on a project by architect António Barbosa | R31J, the interior architecture design project created by PPS in a vintage industrial environment that evokes the memory of the place is, as intended by the client, an allegory of the Portuguese Discoveries. Through the representation of products traded at the time, which could have been stored in these buildings, the PPS project sought to meet the client’s expectations.
DESCOBERTAS BOUTIQUE HOTEL
PORTO, PORTUGAL
A different continent is represented in each of the five stories, where different elements have been applied to display and transmit the culture of the various geographies. Based on a printed cement-design wallpaper used throughout the building, a unique and subtle motif appears on each floor, evoking each culture. The different continents are portrayed in the changeable elements of the project, in decorative details that are common to all guest rooms but different in terms of origin—including various ornaments, pictures and pillows.
This way, it was possible to create a shared base and image, in a comfortable environment, that offered the imagery of the different cultures without creating noise and allowing the identification and interaction of the guest with the story being told.
The adaptation of this narrow-lot building located in a medieval urban grid into a 20-room boutique hotel program represented an added challenge for the integration of service spaces and utilities networks and the use of materials that complied with new safety, environmental and noise regulations.
