The rehabilitation of this seemingly anonymous building, located in R. Augusta, the noblest street of the XVIII-century plan of Baixa – a Candidate to UNESCO Heritage urban site - took the difficult approach of understanding and working with the values of this Architecture. The process took eight years of careful removal of layers, interpretation of the several additions made, corrections of some past errors and the gentle introduction of modern infrastructures into a 200-year building. In the end, four independent apartments and a street level commercial space were restored. These units maintained their spatial structure and constructive truth, served by contemporary answers to modern living patterns (kitchens, bathrooms, a lift and a new ‘layer’ of services).

The process would not have been possible were it not for a combination of factors: an expectant ‘obsolete’ building, empty and with no recent interventions; owners that shared the costs and articulated their needs and expectations to allow for a global intervention; the design toil that constantly referred to the existing matrix; and a contractor that prided on excelling in his work.

Hopefully, the intervention will pass largely undetected within an anonymous building that struggles for the urban continuity of Baixa.

Team:
Architect: LGLS Architects
Photography: Fernando Guerra | FG+SG

Material Used:
1. Facade cladding: Original Ceramic Tiles, restored
2. Flooring: Wooden floor, marble
3. Doors: Wood, restored
4. Windows: Wood, restored
5. Roofing: Ceramic Tiles + natural color finished zinc
6. Interior lighting: Solidlight