The house is a refurbishment of a sizeable townhouse in the main pedestrian street of a small city in the outskirts of Lisbon. The most radical alteration to the 19th century house turned the existing entrance and stairwell into a triple height connector. The other chirurgical, objectual interventions insert themselves disturbingly and theatrically into the existing space.
They allow for new functions or welcome unforeseen needs. The teenage kids are entitled with the left wing of the main floor and the sound-insulated underground spaces. The mother has her own private domain with bedroom, dressing room, work studio, and terrace all set in the new fully refurbished attic.
The main floor patio in the back has its own new insertions: a spiraling stair and an Y.K. blue swimming pool. The (act of) building is in itself only a motif for cultural proliferation.
Pedro Gadanho is an architect, curator and writer based in Lisbon. He is an MA in art & architecture and holds a PHD from F.A.U.P., where he currently teaches. He is the editor of the BEYOND, Short Stories on the Post-Contemporary book series, he writes the Shrapnel Contemporary blog and contributes regularly to international publications. Amongst exhibition layouts, galleries and refurbishments, his designs include the Ellipse Foundation in Lisbon, and the widely published Orange House, in Carreço, and Family Home, in Oporto. His first solo architecture exhibition and monograph, Interiores, were launched on occasion of the 2nd Lisbon Architecture Triennale, 2010.
