HOUSE IN ALBERGARIA

Renovation and extension project for a single-family dwelling on a corner plot in Albergaria-a-Velha.

The existing building, with a ground floor and first floor and a floor area of approximately 130 m2, was built in the early decades of the last century, using adobe for the exterior walls and wooden structures for the floors and roof. On the upper floor, the living spaces were organised with interior partition walls, with the ground floor serving as a garage/storage room in a large space.

The existing house had a very dense layout, which was difficult to adapt to the new housing programme, and it was necessary to demolish it, while maintaining the façade.

The proposed solution goes beyond the limits of the pre-existing façade and rejects part of the area defined by it, defining a new layout and creating an interstitial space between the interior of the dwelling and the street: a covered but open garden that acts as a filter between the public (street) and private (house) spheres. The intention was also to create other tensions between the pre-existing and the new project, which are reflected in the volumes that attempt to ‘come out’ and cross the preserved façade.

The proposed programme is developed over three floors (basement, ground floor and first floor) with a garage/multipurpose room and swimming pool in the basement, social and service areas on the ground floor and bedrooms on the upper floor.