Atelier d'Arquitectura Lopes da Costa's proposal for the Marlim Costa Cabral residential building strives to preserve the character of the existing building, while maintaining comfort and convenience, incorporating a series of new materials and finishes.
Consequently, characteristic elements were preserved that allude to the memory of what the building once was. Friezes, moldings, and baseboards are naturally integrated into the new spaces, which adapt to a contemporary lifestyle.
The project essentially consists of the incorporation of new kitchens and bathrooms, strategically located to minimize the impact on the existing building. Additionally, a green area in the ground-floor rear courtyard and a multipurpose space on the roof provide the building with communal spaces that promote integration among neighbors.
Marlim Costa Cabral by Atelier d’Arquitectura Lopes da Costa. Photography by João Rey.
Description of project by Atelier d’Arquitectura Lopes da Costa
The Marlim Costa Cabral refurbishment project is located in the city of Porto and aimed to convert the existing four-story building into seven flats of different types.
The intervention sought to maintain the structure and interior configuration of the existing building, adapting the spaces to the functionalities introduced by the new program and to contemporary way of living. It sought to safeguard the character of the pre existing building, which was well preserved, providing it with better living conditions and comfort through new solutions, materials and finishes.
Characteristic elements such as interior doors, friezes, trims, skirting boards, carved ceilings, stonework and others were kept wherever possible, in order to safeguard the building's character and memory. The window frames were replaced with new ones of an identical design, in order to meet the new housing requirements, namely safety and thermal and acoustic comfort.
The intervention essentially involved the construction of new kitchens and bathrooms, located in such a way as to concentrate the vertical technical ducts, minimizing the impact on the pre-existing building. It was also decided to make use of the roof space by making mezzanines for complementary multipurpose spaces, illuminated and ventilated by skylights.
On the ground floor, the backyard was upgraded into a garden area complemented by a shed at the bottom. This outdoor area, although divided into two parts to be used by the two flats that can access it, has enriched the whole.
