Restelo House

This house renovated by João Tiago Aguiar Architects is located in an early 50’s residential neighborhood in an area surrounded buy terraced houses, near the Restelo shopping street in Lisbon, Portugal.

The main area of intervention was the rear part of the house, which was completely redrawn. Searching for a contrast with the main facade, the architects envisioned a fascia, opened by a series of windows and shutters resembling a pattern of traditional Portuguese tiles. This pattern works like a skin that filters the sun light and also protects the house from intruders. In order to give the top floor more habitable space, they created a mansard roof with three openings.

The ground level was transformed in one unique living area, joining together the entrance, the living room and the kitchen. A white volume coated with grate lines, disguises an area of a closet, social toilet and storage. This central core also performs a separation within spaces. The staircase between the ground floor and the first floor leans on the left side of the entire volume, ensuring an optimized living area and also a central passage to the first floor.

The first floor corresponds to a more private area, with the rooms and a suite. To make this last request possible, the architects placed a lavatory in the bed space that also worked as a sideboard. As for the shower cabin and the toilet, they merged them behind a glass wall, diluting the limits of the space, giving a feeling of a wider space.

Restelo House, Lisbon, Portugal
Program: single family house, renovation
Architects: Architecture João Tiago Aguiar
Collaborators: Architecture Collaboration Renata Vieira, Ana Caracol, Ruben Mateus, João Nery Morais, André Barreiros Silva
Contractor: Manuel Gonçalves & Marques Lda.
Area: 225 sqm
Completion: 2016