Lapa
Alexandra Brites

Lapa

LIMIT architecture studio as Architects

Lapa is located on the outskirts of Santo Tirso, in an old allotment, wedged between the Ave River and the train line to the east, and the national road to the west.

photo_credit Alexandra Brites
Alexandra Brites

It is a somewhat atypical subdivision, with inaccuracies in the execution and a disproportionate scale ratio between the space allocated to the public road and the private area of the lots. The rules imposed on the Lapa lot were quite restrictive and as the time available for the project and the work did not admit the possibility of doing an alteration to the allotment project, we assumed the prescriptions for the lot as if it were a physical pre-existence.

photo_credit Alexandra Brites
Alexandra Brites

Thus, we started with a parallelepiped volume, defined by the implantation area and
maximum height allowed, which underwent a process of excavation and subtraction in order to generate interior spaces and relations with the exterior. The initial abstract volume results in a shape with recesses – lapas – that generate and react to the uses of the house.
Privacy, adaptability and efficiency were the key intentions for the interior organization. The living area opens to the south, but as it coincides with the public road, we decided to increase the ceiling height and raise the window, maintaining a relationship with the outside when the inhabitant is standing, but protecting those who are sitting from outside eyes.

photo_credit Alexandra Brites
Alexandra Brites

The generic ''living room – dining room – kitchen'' sequence is maintained, but despite providing a fluid relationship between the spaces, where it is possible to circulate around the island, through the kitchen and dining room, it also allows to close the living room from kitchen. On the ground floor we also find a space with a private sanitary installation, facing south, but protected from the street by a porch, which in the first phase of use will be an office, but is expected to be used in the future as a bedroom suite. In the back of the house we find a small technical and laundry space, related to the kitchen and its porch.
On the upper floor there are 3 rooms that receive light from the south, connected by a common balcony, whose limit is defined by the green roof that covers the taller area of the living room.

photo_credit LIMIT studio
LIMIT studio

The work results in an abstract, austere piece, with a predominance of white, where the process of excavation and subtraction sculpted the final shape – Lapa.

photo_credit LIMIT studio
LIMIT studio

Read story in Português

Project Credits
Product Spec Sheet

Project Spotlight
Product Spotlight
News
UNStudio’s new Chongqing development balances demand for high-rise living with health and well-being of residents
10 Feb 2025 News
UNStudio’s new Chongqing development balances demand for high-rise living with health and well-being of residents

International architecture and design practice UNStudio has completed 18T Mansion, a high-rise resid... More

Archello houses of the month - January 2025
5 Feb 2025 News
Archello houses of the month - January 2025

Archello has selected its houses of the month for January 2025. This list showcases 20 of the m... More

Polish Embassy in Berlin by JEMS Architekci is a “testament to architectural diplomacy”
4 Feb 2025 News
Polish Embassy in Berlin by JEMS Architekci is a “testament to architectural diplomacy”

A project that was thirteen years in the making, the new Polish Embassy in Berlin officially opened... More

Ika.architekti builds fun and functional DIY sauna in Brno
31 Jan 2025 News
Ika.architekti builds fun and functional DIY sauna in Brno

Brno-based ika.architekti has built an upcycled sauna using an array of old materials. The project i... More

Francine Houben, Isabel Van Haute, Stephan Chevalier and DaeWha Kang named as Archello Awards 2025 jurors
27 Jan 2025 Archello Awards
Francine Houben, Isabel Van Haute, Stephan Chevalier and DaeWha Kang named as Archello Awards 2025 jurors

Archello is pleased to announce the first group of its esteemed jurors for the newly launched Archel... More

HGAA expands restaurant in Bãi Cháy with a building that embraces nature
27 Jan 2025 News
HGAA expands restaurant in Bãi Cháy with a building that embraces nature

Vietnamese architectural studio HGAA was included in Archello’s list of the 25 best architectu... More

Mole Architects elevates “mundane” 1960s English bungalow with new extension
27 Jan 2025 News
Mole Architects elevates “mundane” 1960s English bungalow with new extension

Cambridge-based architectural studio Mole Architects has completed the upgrade and extension of an e... More

New Samuel Paty School in Béziers plays with materiality
21 Jan 2025 News
New Samuel Paty School in Béziers plays with materiality

Paris-based ateliers O-S architectes (Vincent Baur, Guillaume Colboc, and Gaël Le Nouëne)... More