The building is located in the Estrela parish in the Lapa neighborhood, a neighborhood with constantly regenerating demographic characteristics, where there is an increasing demand for small apartments from young couples at the beginning of their careers. As such, we believe that the proposal should focus on small typologies, such as T1 (one-bedroom apartments), which also allows us to maintain the number of units.

Regarding the main facade, the presented proposal maintains the existing typological structure, as well as its architectural composition; we only introduce the alteration of the geometry of the central openings on the 2nd and 3rd floors, which will now be balcony openings. The construction and decoration elements are preserved, that is, all the stonework, the window and door frames, the balcony basins, and the metal elements are recovered and maintained.

For the design of the rear facade, and given its orientation towards the interior of a city block, we propose the creation of balcony openings with identical dimensions, harmonized with the surrounding environment, in order to allow for greater use of natural light and ventilation in the bedrooms.

The layout of the units on each floor is similar to the current one, with the central distribution area and the apartment types to the left and right. In total, there are 10 units, 9 of which are identical. Access to the interior of each unit is through a distribution area where the bedrooms always face the rear and the living rooms face the main street. In the center of the apartment is the utility area, with a kitchenette facing the living room and a bathroom accessible from the hallway.

The main facade is clad with a 10x10cm handmade ceramic tile in light gray. This solution introduces a more noble character to the building, also improving its thermal performance and increasing the durability of the facade finish. The openings are double-leaf, in lacquered wood with two colors; the fixed frame is dark gray and the movable frame is white. All openings have thermal break and double glazing. The existing railings are restored and painted dark gray. The railing that replaces the parapet is also in dark gray lacquered steel.

On the rear elevation, the facade finish will be in white painted plaster. The openings will be single-leaf, in white aluminum, the frames are in dark gray lacquered steel, as are the metal railings.