While the urban and the natural environment are always in dialogue, the MASSLAB proposal is more than an urban project with two mixed-use towers in the middle of a park: Rising Ground Towers is a green corridor starting from the ground until up to the top, that combines nature and community with new living models. A project for Oporto City that aims to change the way people think about housing and cities.

Different people’s profiles demand different solutions. There is a calling for smarter and more affordable living. Due to that, we increase the offer of housing typologies for a larger range of possibilities to be introduced in the existing market.

Mixing generations and different communities into one, from a one-typology building to an organism of multiple typologies, increases the chance to develop a sense of community. The challenge of creating formal-informal housing is the definition of typologies capable of reflecting the type of organization in spaces that make up each housing unit. In this type of housing, the formal part needs to translate the creation of space associated with the intended functionality that cannot be moved. In the informal part, the creation of flexibility allows the appropriation of adequate space for the ways of life of each inhabitant- making it also flexible.

The main purpose of the project is to create a pedestrian connection along the waterline of the existing lake, connecting the urban and the parkscape. Natural features connect the park empowering the growth of green urban development. A green corridor is created, crossing all plot sites, until reaching the lake, connecting the entire landscape.

Both the urban and natural environments are always in a dialogue. Boosting a new active level in front of the public space. The new connections enable the rise of a slow promenade full of activities on the ground level. The spaces in between the buildings generate areas suitable for the shared activities of all the residents. Shared sports fields, playgrounds, and leisure areas are created to enhance the relationship among residents and sporadic users, families, and students.