The city of Porto, Portugal is still best known for its brightly-painted traditional architecture, which comes in a rainbow of hues. But in the midst of all that terra-cotta tile and baroque embellishment is a rising wave of modern architecture with its own particular flair.

One of the influences behind this shift is a unique intersection of local culture and opportunity. For many decades, this underrated coastal city was a bit economically depressed, leading to a lot of derelict tenements and abandoned buildings. Even beautiful historical architecture began to deteriorate.

Starting in the 1970s, modernism began to creep in, as seen in the stark concrete silhouettes of the social housing complexes of the era. More recently, striking new modern projects have begun to pop up ? along with breezy minimalist flats in freshly renovated buildings.
The cruise terminal at the Port of Leixões, designed by Luis Pedro Silva, is quite a magnificent way to enter the city. It looks like a ribbon unspooling from afar, and when you get up close, you can see that it?s covered in millions of tiny hexagonal azulejos, traditional tiles of the region.

A graphic facade on an Alegria residential building by MiMool Arquitectura & Design de Interiores manages to complement the surrounding traditional architecture without overpowering it, which isn?t an easy feat when it comes to bold patterns.

Arcs of curving steel adorn the glass facades of a marina compl...