Albergues Noturnos do Porto

In the film about the renewal project of the Homeless Shelter of Porto (‘Albergues Noturnos do Porto’) by architect Nuno Valentim and produced by Building Pictures, we are invited to take a guided tour of the space with Laudolino Jesus, a former homeless person, to understand how Architecture changes people's lives.

Laudolino, now an employee of the Homeless Shelter of Porto for the homeless, which receives people from the city of Porto, recalls that the building before the works “was a very gray space. It didn't offer many conditions”.

Throughout the film, accompanied by the interview, we travel around the space and realize that the modest rehabilitation of the building allowed us to make a huge difference in the lives of hundreds of people who rely on the association.

The former homeless tells us: “This space was completely turned upside down and rebuilt”. That work allowed people to return to hygienic conditions, a space where they can currently recover their energy and calm, such as “a good shower and incredibly sleeping in a new bed".

The film shows the interior space and ends on the outside with Laudolino's words: “This is like our mother's house, isn't it? We go out, but no matter how bad things are going, we have a place where we can nest and lick our wounds”.

At the end of 2018, the building of the Homeless Shelter of Porto and its film were finalists for the international Living Places: Simon Architecture Prize in the Collective Places category, an initiative of the Simon Group with the support of the Mies van der Rohe Foundation.

[architecture]
Nuno Valentim

[direction & production]
Building Pictures

[camera]
Sara Nunes

[post-production]
Sara Nunes

[sound design]
Ana Pedro

[music]
Uncertain Ground by Blue Dot Sessions, Creative Commons