In the Portuguese city of Porto, a tall cylindrical tower stands in the midst a large university campus. Designed by architectural studio OODA, Hoso tower is quite distinct from the often generic student accommodation buildings found across cities far and wide.
This recently built project by OODA was born from the desire to “find the ideal formula for optimization and spatial flexibility,” says the studio. The design reconciles form and function with contemporary needs and seeks to address a client’s ambitious goals: “How to design a building that provides optimized and flexible space . . . [that is] suitable for students and young generations, while responding to the new contemporary challenges of sustainability, affordability, and a sense of community?” OODA’s answer lay in the idea of “form and volume” and in creating a “pure shape with the purest elements.”
Located next to Porto’s Asprela Campus and sitting between a number of conventional orthogonal volumes, Hoso “fills an urban void created by the various discontinuities associated with the inner belt motorway in Porto,” says OODA. The classic cylindrical design was envisioned as a way to effectively utilize the building’s spatial plan in a manner that promotes flexibility. Its circulation areas are minimized and the “typological versatility” is easily solved. Infrastructural facilities are placed in the center, adjacent to the common access points, and room plans open to the outside.
Hoso tower is a prefabricated concrete structure with a total area of 9,350 square meters (100,643 square feet) — all elements were assembled on-site. This approach reduced the overall construction time by 30 percent: each floor was constructed in approximately one week. “The method and process of prefabricated construction minimizes any unforeseen outcomes, which guarantees above average quality,” says OODA. Concrete pieces are easily piled, helping to reduce transportation, wastage, and the building’s overall carbon footprint.
The facade’s design works to protect housing units from the sun’s radiation; acoustically, it offers a barrier against unwanted traffic noise. The facade also acts as a screen against unwelcome intrusion, its vertical and horizontal concrete slabs and pillars increasing the privacy of each housing unit.
Hoso tower’s myriad deep balconies wrap around its structure, their collective exoskeleton-like form giving the building an intentional rhythmic quality. As the accommodations are filled by occupants, it is likely these balconies will come alive with greenery and outdoor furnishings. The tower’s lower and upper floors are set aside for collective use, including study rooms, a games room, co-working and lounge areas, a rooftop gym and terrace, which provides sweeping panoramic views.