It is a real pleasure for us to share a little interview with you we did with Fati, Alexnadre and Adelino - the owner of The White Box House.
The White Box House is a wonderful guesthouse in the heart of Porto. We have been there on our summer trip this year. We are still swarming about the house with its warm atmosphere, the well selected furniture, the design objects, the high rooms and the simplicity and beauty of the whole composition. And not to forget the breakfast. Served very personal in the lovely kitchen of the house with home made jam and a delicious apple pie made by Fati (she is so sweet).
A stay in The White Box House is a very personal and pure experience, you can feel the passion and the love of three young people who are living for their true dream.
FATI, ALEXANDRE AND ADELINO SINCE WHEN AND FROM WHERE DO YOU KNOW EACH OTHER?
Oh!.. We met each other so many years ago. We forgot when! Before
The White Box House we did a lot of small
"projects" together: travels, travels, travels... This allowed to
learn a lot of things and to know each other deeply, crucial to this big
"travel".
The White Box House team is a mix of law,
computer science and chemistry. Something difficult to explain, but maybe
something very closed to a big EXPLOSION! On the other hand, we have the same
pleasure in independent travels and the same interests in architecture,
minimalist design, vintage furniture and upcycling pieces, photography, music
and so on.
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA TO DO SOMETHING WONDERFUL LIKE
YOUR HOSTEL?
When low cost companies started to flight to Porto Airport, we
intensified our travels and our stay in hostels and guesthouses and at same
time Porto became a more visited city. So we decided to open a guesthouse to
receive people as if it was our home. As Porto has so nice old houses most of
them abandoned, it was, without doubt, our start point: to find an old charming
house with garden and well placed. In order to renovated it, preserving the
original characteristics and adapting to the contemporary comfort needs, having
as final purpose to provide to the guests the ideal atmosphere for a perfect
stay and where they can live some of the local culture without losing the
feeling of being at home.
After hard search, work and burocracy we got a building from
the beginning of the 20th century, with wooden floors, granite, portuguese
tiles, a garden in the most busy pedestrian street of Porto. Meanwhile, the
building was carefully restored by the architects of the Atelier da Bouça (Filipa
Guerreiro e Tiago Correia Arquitectos).
IS THERE ANY HISTORY ABOUT THE OLD HOUSE?
The White Box House is a typical Oporto house belonged to a rich
family owner of several houses in the area and when the parents died, the two
daughters divided the original building in two. Now is possible to see the
symetric buildings, one renewed and the other a bit degradated. When we bought
our part, it was a vandalized and already closed cyber cafe. Before that, it
was a cultural association, and before a school. The two lower levels, during
many years, were rented to a Portuguese lady, always dressed with an Indian sari
that runned there a shop with some esoteric pieces and to his husband that used
to fix electric equipment. It's impossible to describe what we found there...many
years of stuff.
WHAT WAS THE WORST MOMENT DURING THE RESTORATION OF THE HOUSE?
Difficult to answer... We 've erased all the long process of our
brains!
WOULD YOU DO IT AGAIN?
YES! Maybe because we've erased all the process before opening!
At a moment we had a big list of names. When it was the legal deadline
to give a name we remembered the ceramic white boxes left in the basement, used
by the eletrician.
HOW DID IT COME TO THE COLLABORATION WITH THE ARCHITECTS
FILIPA GUERREIRO AND TIAGO CORREIA OF ATELIER DA BOUÇA?
We made a selection of architects, having in mind three
conditions: we must be identified with its previous work, they must be opened
enough to accept some extra ideas and they must not be our friends. We decided
for Filipa Guerreiro and Tiago Correia of Atelier da Bouça. And now we are friends.
WAS IT POSSIBLE TO BRING YOUR OWN IDEAS (E.G.
MATERIALS) OR DID YOU JUST TRUST THE ARCHITECTS?
Of course with told all the requirements to bring our idea up
and we follow all the process, adjusting some things when needed. But in
general we trusted, of course.
THERE ARE WONDERFUL AND VERY WELL SELECTED FURNITURE, LAMPS AND
OTHER FINE THINGS IN YOUR HOSTEL (EVERYTHING THERE IS ON THE RIGHT PLACE, NOT
TOO MUCH AND NOT TOO LITTLE) - ARE THIS PROPOSALS OF FILIPA AND TIAGO OR YOUR
OWN IDEAS?
Great - that you like, because the interior design was decided
by us. It was a difficult, but challenging, process. We are lovers, but
amateurs in this area, so we did everything with much care and passion, as if
it was for our place. Finally, it seems that we please some people, which is
rewarding. We had already a proposal of a guest to buy most of the furniture in
the living room.
YOUR ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING ROOM IN THE ENTRANCE FLOOR - THE
ROOM IS EMPTY AND WE FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS - WHAT WILL HAPPEN THERE IN FUTURE, DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS?
Another "travel"... We are studying a new project to
complement the guesthouse and dynamise the extra space. The idea is a coffee/shop/restaurant/boutique/gallery, a multi purpose space directed not only to the guests, but
also to the public in general. Let see what will happen...
JUST A LAST QUESTION - WHAT IS FOR EACH OF YOU THE FAVORITE ROOM
IN YOUR HOUSE?
During our stay The White Box House has been awarded by Respect for Architecture, congratulations and again and again: dear Fati, Alexandre and Aelino thank you for the unforgettable time in your house and the little interview with us. We are looking forward to see you in Porto again very soon.
Photo by MATIMUK
