MODERNE HEATER

The floor heater at Casa de Serralves, in Porto, is a piece of sculpture in polished brass erupting out of the marble floor. You can almost believe it could actually move up and down, complete with the top floor piece still attached. As always, perfect design and execution in Porto's greatest gesamtkunstverk, with the Ruhlmann interiors beautifully complementing Marques da Silva's architecture. Pity it didn't last like that to our days, and the now spartan white-painted interiors are somewhat used for performances or installations, but the hard surfaces and fixtures still remain as testament to less utilitarian and pseudo-minimalist times.

CERAMIC LIGHT FIXTURE

Private House, Rua do Rosário, Porto

FAUCET

Private house, Rua do Rosário, Porto

FLUORESCENT LIGHT FIXTURE

In a modest café in Porto, the light fixtures are still relics from an Art Deco past. More will come from said café in the future.

BRASS MOLDS

 

Lamp factory, Marinha Grande.

THE BRITISH FACTORY, PORTO

The British Factory in Porto, Portugal, has a long history which can be researched anywhere online. What matters to us here is that it is a beautiful surviving example of British Palladianism in Portugal, brought about by a centuries-old trade agreement and the Port wine business between the two countries. It has jib windows, a cantilevered stone staircase, numerous examples of Georgian furniture (most built in Portugal after English examples) and of course the perfectly proportioned facades, of which a great model exists inside.
We are visiting this building in two days - Wednesday the 28th. There are no more vacancies, unfortunately, but shoot us an email and we'll let you know when the next tour comes up!

ELECTRIC WIRING

Porto. Everytime you visit an old abandoned townhouse the electrical installation is similar: twisted silk wires and outward mounted bakelite switches (see bakelite, here) with ceramic fasteners holding the whole thing to the walls, casings, ceilings. When you can't conceal the little functional things, they have to be made beautiful.

LIGHT FIXTURE IN CERAMIC

Porto, Rua do Almada, Private House

FAUCET

Church of São Bento da Vitória, Porto

PEDESTAL SINK

Casa de Serralves, Porto

The Casa de Serralves has the appeal of being a coutry house entirely done in the Art Deco/ Moderne style, as opposed to the more prevalent apartment renovations of the period. Now turned into an art museum, it is unfortunately stripped of most of its original furniture, some of which came from the ateliers of Ruhlmann in Paris. This lavatory's design origins are unknown; the great Porto Beaux-Arts architect Marques da Silva had worked on the project as well.