ARX

The project involved the comprehensive transformation of a four-apartment building on Rua do Olival in Lisbon into a single-family house. Due to planning requirements, the original main façade was preserved, while the remainder of the building was entirely rebuilt. The project therefore explores the juxtaposition of two distinct periods: the original architecture expressed through the façade and a deliberately contemporary interior, creating a dialogue between the two.

On the façade, this dialogue is expressed through concealed new single-glazed frames, recessed behind the original wall face to create deep, contemporary openings that emphasise the substantial thickness of the existing walls. At the rear, the language is distinctly contemporary, with large glazed openings strengthening the visual relationship with the landscaped courtyard.

The interior organisation responds to the domestic programme, with the lower floors dedicated to social areas extending towards the garden, and the private spaces located on the upper floors, with views towards the Tagus.

At the heart of the design, a central plywood volume organises the vertical circulation, incorporates storage and bathrooms, and defines the limits of the main spaces arranged along the two opposite façades.

The dialogue between different periods is particularly evident in the resolution of the discrepancies between the façade openings and the interior floor levels, generating singular spatial conditions. Tectonically, the project embraces an informal contemporary expression through exposed concrete ceilings, whose distinctive texture results from OSB-panel formwork, and polished concrete floors.