In the economic activity zone of the Ramalde parish, in the city of Porto, a program was developed that focused on the recovery of a set of vacant industrial buildings, transforming them into a paddle tennis club with an innovative concept. The set of existing pavilions, unused for some years and juxtaposed side by side, became a challenge for the adequacy of the planned program. The need to minimize intervention costs and adequately articulate the program with the existing structural grid became apparent.

The proposed project is based on maintaining the existing volumetry, adapted to the desired program, which includes the creation of a paddle tennis complex with 14 courts, two of them with stands, a gym, a shop dedicated to paddle tennis, an event room, a physiotherapy area, a warming-up zone, and a lounge bar with a panoramic view of the premium courts, as well as a play area for children. Parking is provided by a car park within the PAC itself, with a capacity for over 100 spaces, 39 of which are covered.

Aesthetically, it is identified by maintaining the industrial image in all spaces, with exposed metal structures, piping, cable paths, and exposed concrete, remaining as visible as possible, showing the beauty and authenticity they have in themselves. It was also decided to maintain the existing floors, made of concrete of different ages, which were mechanically polished, giving, in the end, a coherent, sophisticated, and pure image. Most of the new walls built, especially near the stands, the stands themselves, bathrooms, and evacuation routes, are characterized by the simple and brutalist expressiveness of the materials, reduced to the essentials.

The preservation of industrial heritage awakens memories of past times, ambiguous feelings, both positive and melancholic. The exterior image emanates a certain industrial nostalgia, chromatically neutral, becoming somewhat contemporary, characterized by the density and materiality of the industrial language.