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Castro Group announces that the Buz at La Movida building, located at Rua Brito e Cunha, 584, in Matosinhos Sul, has achieved LEED Gold® certification awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), under the LEED® v4 BD+C: New Construction system, the most widely used sustainable construction assessment programme in the world.
This is the first Castro Group building to achieve this certification and the first flex working space to obtain LEED certification in Matosinhos. In the city, only four buildings currently hold this international distinction, reinforcing the project’s significance within the local context.
Complementing this, the building was also awarded the 2026 National Urban Rehabilitation Award in the Best Sustainability Solution category, cementing its status as a reference project in sustainable urban rehabilitation.
The Buz at La Movida was born from the rehabilitation of a vacant property in Matosinhos Sul, led by Castro Group. The project extends the useful life cycle of an unused building, converting it into a contemporary asset with 1,780 sqm of gross built area and a current occupancy rate of 100%.
The conversion of the building into a flexible office space creates an economic infrastructure aligned with contemporary work models and business innovation, contributing to a more resilient, diverse and sustainable urban economy.
La Movida is today the first building in the Buz ecosystem — Castro Group’s new flex working brand, built around values such as community, flexibility and wellbeing.
The LEED Gold certification is the result of a sustainability strategy built from day one of the project, spanning four complementary dimensions:
Fernanda Zelaya, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP & Head of Sustainability at Castro Group, states: “Rehabilitating with rigour does not happen by chance. Buz at La Movida is the result of decisions made from the very first day of the project and of the coordination of all the teams involved — from the choice of materials and energy and water systems to the integration of the building with its urban surroundings. The LEED Gold certification, with 70 points out of 110, is external confirmation that this approach works and meets internationally recognised standards.”
In numbers, this approach translates into:
“This certification is the result of the rigour, dedication and commitment of the team to a more responsibly built future. Buz at La Movida is today a contemporary, sustainable asset integrated into the life of the city, designed for people, for their wellbeing and for the way they work today,” says Paulo Castro, CEO of Castro Group.
João Garcia, Commercial Director of Castro Group, adds that “the 100% occupancy rate confirms that Buz at La Movida responded to genuine demand for differentiated, sustainable and well-located workspaces. More than commercialising a building, we created a value proposition that combines construction quality with a user experience designed for the companies and teams that have made this their home.”
The LEED certification of Buz at La Movida is part of the portfolio certification strategy defined in 2021, which aims to achieve a portfolio 100% aligned with internationally recognised sustainability standards.
The project was also honoured with the 2026 National Urban Rehabilitation Award in the Best Sustainability Solution category — a distinction that recognises projects contributing to the regeneration and revitalisation of Portuguese cities.
The application was grounded in the very values that have made Buz at La Movida a benchmark project: the comprehensive rehabilitation of a pre-1951 building on Rua Brito e Cunha, in Matosinhos Sul, which recovered a vacant structure and returned it to the city as a 21st-century economic and social infrastructure.
“Receiving the National Urban Rehabilitation Award in the Best Sustainability Solution category, at the same time as achieving LEED Gold certification, confirms that we are on the right path. Buz at La Movida is proof that it is possible to return buildings to the city responsibly, in service of the people who inhabit them and the community in which they are located, and that the market recognises and values that difference” says Paulo Castro, CEO of Castro Group.
Fernanda Zelaya, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP, Head of Sustainability at Castro Group, adds: “The sustainability strategy of Buz at La Movida is built around three timeframes. The past, the choice to rehabilitate a structure that had existed for decades rather than demolish it. The present, the decision to build with measurable environmental performance and wellbeing targets. The future, the way in which the building’s performance is monitored and adjusted throughout all the years it will be in use. La Movida is today a LEED Gold building because it was conceived across these three timeframes simultaneously: what it inherits, what is built, and what will be operated.”
