This project was developped as part of the `Housing Tomorrow` competition in 2013.

It is conceived in the belief that whenever architects tried to `invent` the future it was a different vision. All of them shared, that they did not come true.

Based on that, this building proposes that we do not try to invent - but to develop.

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The core of this vision is therefore to start with what we have. That includes the actually built parts - in this case the facade in a gap between two houses in the core of Porto, Portugal - but it also means to preserve the underlying structures of the city.

In this case we pay tribute to that by first forming an outer skin, shaped after the traditional houses of Porto, with a setback on the top floor. Inside that the new spaces are wrapped in a second, inner skin. The attributes and interaction of those two skins allow the house to address another crucial factor for the future: It can adapt to climatic factors, making it a environmentally and socially sustainable building.

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In summer, the solar panels on the roof generate electricity. They get tilted to maximize solar intake. By doing that, they open the roof for air circulation. By doing the same on ground floor, the gap between inner and outer skin turns into a passive cooling tower, transporting the hot air away.

In winter, the panels get closed. Neither the outer, nor the inner skin boast impressive insulation abilities, but they trap the air in between them, using it as further protection. The 'space in between' is used for day-time activities, when the sun is strong enough to warm the rooms, at night life shifts to the cores.