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11th May 2018

Award for urban redevelopment scheme in Porto, Portugal, featuring landscape design by Grant Associates

A significant mixed-use urban regeneration scheme designed by Bogle Architects and Grant Associates for Portugal’s coastal city of Porto has been awarded a Commendation at the 2018 MIPIM/The Architectural Review: Future Projects Awards.



Featuring a landscape and public realm design strategy by Grant Associates, the development project received the accolade for the Future Project Awards’ highly competitive mixed-use category, which attracts entries from around the world.






Porto’s largest development in recent years will see the creation of a new hub for student accommodation and residential apartments along with offices, retail and leisure facilities at Rua Amial in Paranhos, which lies at the heart of Porto’s innovation district.

The 7.8 hectare site was established as a tannery in 1920 and some of the original buildings will form a focus for the site’s regeneration through its transformation into a new ‘mercado’ – a contemporary market place with restaurants/food courts and leisure use at the heart of the development.

The overall vision is to create a unique, diversified destination focused on student accommodation and residential apartments, as well as ‘incubator’ offices focused on the tech sector. Developed as a joint venture by London based Round Hill Capital and MEFIC Capital, which have made a €100 million investment, the project team aims to address the significant demand/supply imbalance for student housing in Porto.

The scheme’s first buildings are expected to be completed by 2020 - exactly 100 years after the creation of the original tannery.






Other key project team members for the scheme include Lisbon based CPU Architects International, which is working with main architect Bogle Architects, to support the delivery of the concept design plans.






Keith French, director at Grant Associates, comments: "Grant Associates’ landscape and public realm proposals will help create a unifying and coherent layout for the site’s diverse uses, and enhance connections with the surrounding area and communities, which includes universities, teaching hospitals, research facilities as well as key transport links. A vibrant series of spaces and routes to enhance the public realm include an event square, water garden and series of courtyard gardens."