Architects: Arquitectura G Photography: Maxime Delvaux Construction Period: 2023 Location: Sintra, Portugal
This was the first building to be transformed at the Quinta da Ponte complex. It is part of a row of buildings along the perimeter wall of the estate, and their sunken ground floor spaces, having been excavated in the terrain, were previously small shops that only opened onto the main façade. This buildings upper floor, which could not be accessed from the one below, was a single-floor apartment mostly cut off from the estate.
Read MoreThe aim of this project was to invert the buildings original function both in terms of the interior space and its relation with the exterior yet without changing the volume, in order to preserve the rows uniformity. The main façade looks onto a narrow street with an even narrower pavement, with traffic going by. This façade is now reformulated as the rear one, in an attempt to open up the building onto the estate instead, both visually and with regards to its function. The upper floor has four large window bays, two of which also reach down to the ground floor, forming two patios. This means that the bedrooms can be moved downstairs, along with the wet rooms; thus, the main upper floor, which is now completely freed up, becomes a large shared space with a connection to the estate. In turn, it is presided over by a staircase crowned by the kitchen that articulates the space.
Text provided by the architect.
