The Black Box Apartment consists of remodeling a residence with distressed and wasted spaces. The retrofitting strategy was based on identifying the potential of space and materials hidden in the original configuration to provide spaciousness, natural light and cross ventilation.  

A “black box” contains services such as bathrooms, kitchen facilities and storage. The surrounding free space holds the rest of the program activities: sit, cook, sleep, eat, work. The black box is cladded with a steel mesh over mirrors to give a sense of depth and reflect daylight, illuminating the most shaded areas of the apartment.

At the remaining space, the reticulated slab, block and concrete walls of the original structure where unveiled. Wherever storage was necessary, white MDF closets where designed matching the concrete floor joints to be confused with walls. In order to separate the old from the new, plasterboard ceilings where added and indirect light was carefully placed. A service balcony on the rear of the apartment was occupied to re-configured the stairs, extend the kitchen, hide the laundry (utility room) and provide southern solar radiation through a skylight. The landscape design was based on local and edible plants.