metroquadrado® - refurbishment of industrial warehouse into office, Leça do Balio, Portugal, 2010
USE: Office
PREVIOUS FUNCTION: weaving factory
NEW FUNCTION: business centre – Office | Store
INTERVENTION: transformation of old industrialwarehouse into a design store and architecture office
AREA: 160,00sqm
CREATIVE TEAM: Susana Saraiva, Sergio Magalhães, Nuno Amado, Márcia Oliveira

Concept
For approximately 300 years cities have grownassimilating territory previously reserved for other functions like industry,warehousing/logistics, agriculture, etc. As this process develops the logisticsof this areas becomes more and more difficult, traffic becomes chaotic,polluting activities are forbidden close to residential and service areas, theprice of land goes up leading the previous functions to move farther from thecity centre, leaving behind huge industrial complexes that can be demolish oradapted. The second option is preferable no only regarding economic andenvironmental sustainability but also the potential aesthetic and historicvalue of these places.