caselas · modification and expansion project






This urban territory imposes a reflection about the existing rules and the ethics of our role, in a neighborhood of semi-detached houses all substitutes with a consolidated environment, where the change of volumetries and the maximum use of area to respond to the property value reigns. The proposal seeks to demonstrate that it is possible to expand from the perspective of continuity, as if we could continue a dialogue and make it even clearer.
The intervention was to redefine the limits of the pre-existence, safeguarding its initial characteristics. The enlargement through a new flat roof element connected to the previous one with glazed elements allows keeping the limits of the original construction and separating the two buildings. The vertical accesses divide the house physically and functionally where an access to the exterior, the new main entrance, also appears. The depth of the patio adds program and qualifies the exterior space in a transparent relationship with the interior of the flat roof element. The interior results from the use of pine plank floors and white walls to “amplify” the light and the desired compartmentalization.
architecture: Susana Catarino / Hugo Azevedo
location: Bairro de Caselas, Lisbon
client: Vítor Cândido
collaboration: Renata Neves
project: 2002
construction: 2006