Located in the city of Lisbon, the apartment is part of a group of buildings that date from the beginning of the XXI century and is in a good state of repair, although the materials and finishes are rather outdated. The strong point of this apartment is its large terrace. It’s connection to the interior of the apartment, however, was very weak or non-existent due to the small windows and door openings that provided only one single access to the terrace and did not allow for the desired flow and availability of space.
The main reason for the proposal to renovate the apartment was based on the desire to create more space and a wider access to the exterior, taking advantage of everything the terrace had to offer. Inherent to the design to create more space are alterations to the interior areas, transforming the social areas of the apartment into larger spaces, seeing that the private areas (bedrooms and bathrooms) are heavily conditioned by the existing building structure and infrastructures.
The solution is thus to create a single common space by demolishing the existing walls between the living-dining room and kitchen, creating a larger and ample space that, together with the widening of the new exterior glass doors, results in the reinforcement of the design. The entrance hall was also changed making it more inviting and pleasant, starting with the introduction of elements that characterize it, such as the white lacquered vertical laths, a suspended piece of furniture lighted from below to create the impression that it is levitating above which the wall is mirrored to allow for a more ample interpretation of this space, and finally the two most noticeable elements, the round ceiling lighting and the black sliding door of ample dimension with a circular glass opening that makes the connection with the social area of the apartment.
This area is markedly characterized by shades of white, which becomes clearly noticeable as soon as one crosses the sliding door, entering an ample space marked by black elements and a very large countertop “suspended” in the centre of the space and of the large polished Estremoz marble floor, which extends into the hall itself creating greater spatial uniformity.
If this ample social space (common room and kitchen) is characterized on one side by the kitchen, the opposite side is characterized by the presence of a cabinet lined in microcement and a bioethanol fireplace and, finally, as a backdrop, the uninterrupted visual context and spaciousness of the terrace outside.
The terrace is essentially characterized by the presence of plants that contrast with the proposed wooden elements and by the pergola that accommodates an outdoor space for get-togethers
With regards to the bathroom, its location and size remained the same with changes only to the tiling and sanitary ware placement. The bedrooms in general were not submitted to any type of intervention.