History
Construction of the building complex started in 1945. The developer was Ferreira e Filhos Lda., owned by Delfim Ferreira, who was an important Portuguese entrepreneur. He was born in 1880 in the town of Riba d'Ave, Vila Nova de Famalição.
He was the son of the great Portuguese industrial Narciso Ferreira, who, from a small manual mill, built the largest textile enterprise that existed in Portugal in the second half of the nineteenth century.
The compound stretches from the block between Rua de Sá da Bandeira to the East, a Rua Firmeza to the South, a Rua do Bolhão to the West, and Rua de Guedes de Azevedo on the north side.
The building complex was designed by local architects Eduardo Martins and Manuel da Silva Passos Júnior, who left a large legacy in the city of Porto. Among the buidings that they authored are the building Capitólio located in Avenida dos Aliados, and the Cristo Rei church. The late Ard Deco style is reminiscent of the Serralvez palace, where Delfim Ferreira would live after 1957.
The engineering project was made by Francisco Sarmento Correia de Araújo, who worked on the structural plan for the main City Hall building, as well as on the Porto airport runway. The building technique is hybrid, with the use of stone masonry for the walls and concrete slabs. On the roof a traditional oak beam structure was employed, covered with clay roof tiles.
The section with entrance through number 605 maintains one of its original tenants, the former Banco Espirito Santo e Comercial de Lisboa, now the Novo Banco. Along the decades many companies made this building their home, like the Rootes Motors Limited, Mabor Tires, EDP, Santos e Mendonça Importers, a clinical lab, an several doctors, accountants and lawyers offices, .
Starting in the 1980s the building entered a phase of decline as residents and businesses abandoned downtown Porto. The enormous exodus of population seduced by the car friendly structures of the suburbs, was followed by a movement of businesses to Boavista and later to the large malls in the periphery.
The acquisition in 2016, and the ensuing renovation of the residential floors that is now concluded opened new horizons to the building, and to the North end of Rua de Sá da Bandeira.
Project
The area where the building is located borrows its name from the famous Bolhão market. Along with the restoration of the market started by the City, other private investments have been changing the North half of Rua de Sá da Bandeira. This North-South corridor, formed with Rua de Santa Catarina, has now become the city's new fast developing zone.
The opening of a new wave of local gastronomy businesses like the Fábrica de Cervejas Portuense and the Chocolataria Equador have christened Bolhão as the new gastronomic center of the city, where the old-time gems like Casa Chinesa, Pérola do Bolhão and Casa Lourenço still persist.
The Bolhão area benefits from having excellent public transportation and easy access to the city's cultural venues like the Coliseu, Teatro Municipal Rivoli, Cinema Trindade. Parking is never a problem, with multiple options within one block.
The renovation of the building will preserve all three original uses: residential, retail and offices, which will ensure the livelihood of the block.
The building will continue to offer ground floor retail, offices in the two floors above, and three residential levels above. The third floor was converted from offices into four apartments.
The renovation process started with exterior work, including repair of both facades, and common areas, insulation and repair of the roof, and replacement of all windows and doors.
The second faze of the renovation centered on the three residential floors, involving the replacement of all mechanicals systems of the building. The old water radiators were refurbished and coupled with modern gas boilers and solar panels. A new natural gas system and ITED network were installed.
Construction was completed in May of 2018 and the first tenants have moved in.
Equipa
Archive
Rua de Sá da Bandeira, 605
4000 437 Porto
Portugal