Graça Hub

Graça Hub is located within a block between Rua da Penha de França and Rua António Maria Baptista, on the former Fábrica Favorita site. The project represents a strategic intervention in contemporary architecture in Portugal, combining housing, retail, and services within a cohesive urban framework. Designed by Contacto Atlântico, a top architecture firm in Portugal, the proposal reflects the principles of high-end architecture, where urban regeneration, functionality, and public space are carefully integrated.

The concept opens the interior of the block to the city, introducing a new square, a viewpoint, pedestrian connections, and landscaped areas. This approach transforms a previously enclosed site into an ակտիվ and accessible urban environment.

Architectural Design, Materiality and Urban Integration

The volumetric composition rises between four and five storeys, aligning with the surrounding roofline to ensure continuity within the urban fabric. This controlled scale reinforces integration while maintaining a clear architectural identity.

A new shared street connects both fronts of the block, improving accessibility and enhancing safety. The relocation of parking to basement levels allows the ground plane to be freed for public use, introducing shaded areas, seating, and vegetation. These elements contribute to a more comfortable and legible public realm.

Materiality supports this strategy by ensuring durability and coherence across the development, reinforcing the relationship between built form and landscape. The organisation of routes becomes clearer, and the quality of outdoor spaces is significantly enhanced.

Leading Architecture Firm in Portugal: Urban Life and Community

The relationship between architecture and public space is central to the Graça Hub project, ensuring that the intervention strengthens neighbourhood life and promotes everyday use of shared areas. Increased soil permeability and the integration of green spaces contribute to environmental performance and urban comfort.

The project also reinforces its connection to the western landscape, creating visual and spatial continuity with the surrounding context. By combining local retail with quality housing, Graça Hub establishes a balanced and adaptable urban environment.

As part of Contacto Atlântico’s portfolio, it reinforces the studio’s position as a leading architecture firm in Portugal, recognised for delivering thoughtful and context-driven urban solutions.