Comum

The project refurbished the former Padaria Nacional space on Rua de Cedofeita in Porto into a specialty coffee shop for a group of friends who share a common background in the world of coffee. The concept aims to create an everyday, welcoming space for meeting, sharing, and hanging out, serving as an extension of urban street life. The program includes a specialty coffee shop with its own grinding, a selection of single-origin beans, and artisanal bread and pastry production.

The architecture explores how to intervene in a space not used for commercial purposes while using new materials. The principle: avoid demolition, work with what already exists, covering obsolete elements with a new layer of material. Transforming without erasing memory. Metal and rattan — reminiscent of the precision of coffee tools and transport sacks — were designed to be removable without compromising the structure. The components were designed for the space, using manual processes and comprising unique pieces.

Outside, the concrete slabs from the previous pavement were stacked into a continuous bench, encapsulating the overall approach: to reuse, reinterpret, and transform what already existed. The project embodies a contemporary language rooted in materials, manual labor, and the memory of the place, with values of authenticity, sharing, and connection.