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It's the equivalent of living inside a work of art. The majestic condominium, with only three apartments, which is being born on the back of Avenida Brasil, in the heart of Foz do Douro, is the most perfect definition of luxury. Reinvented from a palace classified as a property of heritage interest, the imposing building dates back to the beginning of the 20th century and is being marketed by LUXIMOS Christie's International Real Estate. Exclusivity, identity and privacy are the attributes that define what is, without any doubt, the most extraordinary development in Porto.
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The three apartments that make up this development, and which represent the maximum of exclusivity, either have 4 bedrooms, with more than 500 m2, exclusive garden and private pool, or 2 bedrooms (in a duplex), with several balconies and more than 170 m2, and are available for sale. Each property provides between two and three parking spaces, fully-equipped kitchens with state-of-the-art appliances, the most sophisticated acoustic and air-conditioning equipment, air-conditioned swimming pools and a large area of communal garden, also designed in detail.
The choice of Nuno Valentim to undertake this project is already an indicator of the level of detail and excellence contemplated in the work scheduled for the first quarter of 2022, since he was the architect responsible for the rehabilitation of emblematic buildings in Porto, such as Palácio da Bolsa or the house of Sophia de Mello Breyner, inside Jardim Botânico. But even a specialist in works that involve great demand and thoroughness - to maintain the design, preserve materials and reinvent spaces, bringing them to the contemporary world - could not close his mouth in amazement when he was confronted with the house ordered built in 1911 by a successful Portuguese businessman then emigrated to Brazil. "The first impression was very striking," he acknowledges. "It's not usual, in a street of that size, and with that surroundings, to find a palace with those characteristics."
In fact, we are facing a palace located in a small neighborhood, very close to the already deactivated lighthouse of Senhora da Luz, which is one of the most beautiful and privileged viewpoints of the city. If from there the eyes reach a horizon that stretches from Douro to Espinho, the feet are two steps from the sea. And everything else - gardens, beaches, schools, restaurants, grocery stores - is at a walking distance. The location is therefore unparalleled. But so is the experience of living, today, in a building with such a high number of distinctive attributes. "It is a privilege to live in a building of this age, with this time, with this identity, with this character", Valentim stresses.
Not only has the rehabilitation project not given in, explains the author, "to the temptations of uniformity, which often exist in real estate market offers", which makes it truly unique and inimitable, but it has also managed to respond to the enormous challenge that a centenary building poses: to be able to use all the values that trace its personality and reintegrate them into a new idea of contemporary building. It will be enough to look at the finishes, the materials and the designs of the windows, openings of the stairs, floors and ceilings, which are nearly four meters high, as well as at the cutout of the garden and pool, to realize the degree of technical intransigence and aesthetic depuration that involved the construction of this rare condominium.
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