Gonçalves House, Lisbon

The house built in 1955 will be rehabilitated and expanded. The plot has a north-south development of 25.84 meters length and an east-west one of 13.32 meters width.

The surrounding area is characterized by a built-up neighborhood consisting of single-family townhouses, where the architectural context is markedly Estado Novo architecture. These houses are integrated in the projects of the “new neighborhoods” of Duarte Pacheco. At the time, they were located on the outskirts of the city and all houses had patios that allowed residents to enjoy a life of leisure outdoors.

The house has undergone some changes over the years due to the deterioration of the facades.We could see the most striking change in the tile covering, which destroyed the original architectural identity. To the west, a balcony was built in the alignment of the entrance door, replacing the existing porch. This resulted in changes, in general, purely decorative. The interior essentially maintains the original design. Our architectural proposal seeks better conditions of habitability and occupation of the lot, formal coherence and integration of the building into the neighborhood. The project ensures the maintenance of the dominant morphological characteristics of the area, since the alteration with expansion to be carried out respects the dominant architectural typologies (detached houses), the volumetric and architectural character of the neighborhood, with no change in the height of the south facade (street front) and North, as well as in the configuration of the existing roofs.

Regarding our proposal, we will extend the 1st floor and the 2nd floor by a length of 5 meters, ensuring the agreement of the roof plans and the continuity of the plat-bands as well as the compatibility of materials. The planned expansion ensures the alignment of the new building with the old one (namely at the height of the facade) with a flat roof which will allow the placement of solar panels. The architectural language of horizontal lines on the back elevation with large windows on the 1st and 2nd floor, takes advantage of natural light as it is facing the North. This new construction will not be visible from the street.

The expansion of the house is intended to create greater habitability on the 1st floor and new space for the living room. At the 2nd floor, the expansion will have a new space for the principal room, with a private bath and a balcony. In the northern direction, a swimming pool will be built, with a 6.39 meters length and a 3.00 meters width.

The surrounding area will be rehabilitated and covered with vegetable soil, which will allow the necessary permeability of the space.

The existing pergola in concrete pillars and beams will be replaced by a new pergola in pine wood. There will also be a new pergola structure with a pedestrian path next to the garage’s east elevation and a shading pergola for the parking of the 2nd vehicle outside in front of the garage entrance.

Architecture: Nuno ladeiro / Carmo Branco (arquitetos)

Technical Project: Bárbara Raimundo

3 D models: Cristian Campanile