Porto Senso

Jean Nouvel has designed the residential complex PortoSenso in Altea (Alicante) which will be located on a plot of over a hundred and thirty-five thousand metres square. This development will have three hundred and ten flats distributed over twelve blocks, each one of them four storeys in height. The number of flats per storey varies depending on the terrain, and also, for the same reason, there will be twenty-four different apartment typologies. Nouvel has given special relevance to the terraces as the microclimate of the area allows them to be enjoyed all year round. The project seeks to respect the surroundings, adapting to the terrain and respecting the level curves and their orography. The constructions will integrate into the landscape through the materials –stone facades that emulate the old farming terraces of the area—the colours and volumes used. This integration results from an aesthetic vocation and from reasons of energy efficiency. The orientation of the dwellings, adapted to the elongated layout of the plot, will permit views of the sea and the mountain as well as making the most of the natural light. The facades and sliding shutters will be clad in stone and the roofs of the dwellings will be planted with local vegetation. They will thus operate as terraces to allow the thermal inertia to regulate the temperature inside the flats in a natural way while producing considerable energy savings. The first phase of the project will begin in April 2007 and eight blocks will be built, equivalent to over a hundred and ninety flats.