ramos castellano reflects architecture of cabo verde with 'casa celestina'

on são vicente, an island of cabo verde in west africa, ramos castellano arquitectos has completed a mixed-use building that seeks to enter into a dialogue with its vibrant context. the project, named ‘casa celestina’, contains commercial and co-working space on the ground floor with seven apartments above. the building’s façade is defined by its square openings, which, from the outside, reflect the colors of the city and its vernacular architecture. however, from the inside, these apertures edit external views to ensure calmness and concentration.

all images by sergio pirrone | video by gonçalo pola

ramos castellano arquitectos, a firm led by eloisa ramos and moreno castellano, explain that the city of mindelo on the island of são vicente is expanding rapidly, with 50% of the population under the age of 25 and tourism also increasing. measuring 60 square meters (646 square feet), the plot is located on a commercial street, which, over the last 15 years, has transformed its architecture from colorful one-storey houses to small 4-storey apartment buildings.

with their design, the architects sought to convey the same joy that was found in traditional architecture, combining it with a new program. split between two levels, the ground floor contains space for commercial and co-working use, with internal activity able to be seen from the adjacent street. above, six apartments measure 29 square meters (312 sqf) each, while on the uppermost level the attic measures 60 square meters (646 sqf).

‘the openings are designed to create an internal external relationship, filtering and selecting the views that contribute to calmness and internal concentration, and at the same time creating a relationship for positioning and size with the architecture of the two lateral buildings,’ explains ramos castellano arquitectos. ‘the chromatism of the windows has a direct relationship with the chromatic palette already present in traditional cabo verdian architecture, and the movement of the openings absorbs and transfers a dynamism and a dialogue with the street and above all with the stereometry of the neighboring buildings.’