lioz arquitetura revives historic homes in portugal with contemporary interventions

lioz arquitetura completes ‘2 houses in setúbal’

In Setúbal, Portugal, Lioz Arquitetura has revived a pair of historic buildings to create a residence that seamlessly integrates heritage with contemporary living. Aptly titled ‘2 Houses in Setúbal’ the project showcases a harmonious blend of preservation, adaptive reuse, and modern design touches which together revitalize the neighborhood, offering spacious homes with a cohesive visual language, with inviting outdoor spaces and upgraded living standards.

Architects André Costa and Marina Malagolini approached the structures, originally four apartments, converting them into two with a central courtyard and a hydraulic infrastructure core. The new layout preserves the buildings’ internal arrangement, organised in four quadrants with communicating rooms that are naturally ventilated and illuminated. Meanwhile, a new red metallic staircase evoking the neighboring bullfighting arena introduces a modern touch in dialogue with the hues of the original solid brickwork, visible in glimpses along the facade. 

all images courtesy of Lioz Arquitetura

a red staircase bridges heritage and contemporary design

The pre-existing building is part of a group of structures that surround the Praça de Touros (bull fighting arena) Carlos Relvas, with a morphological character that dates its construction back to 1889. Namely, the blocks are defined by their two storey form, with tiled pitched roofs, and varying heights in response to the irregular typography. Throughout their renovation, the architects sought to preserve the building’s most characteristic features by maximizing the use of the courtyard and reinforcing the residential vocation of the complex. As such, the four dwellings were converted into two, granting each dwelling access to its own ground floor, first floor, and courtyard.

The program, based on the original four quadrants, adapts the existing structure to current necessities and ways of living. Lioz Arquitetura draws on this layout to inform the foundation for defining the main living areas including the living room, kitchen, and bathrooms. The smallest area left was integrated with a striking red metallic staircase which not only connects both storys but also punctuates the project as a visual centerpiece. The central space accommodating the original staircase was instead converted to shelter the waterproofed sanitary facilities. These interventions enabled fluidity between the separate environments that intercommunicate, as well as facilitated cross ventilation and lighting between floors and the elevations.

Lioz Arquitetura infuses a modern touch in dialogue with the structure’s original brickwork

Internally, the environments are neutral and delicate, with wooden floors, white doors and panels, bare cement and handcrafted white tiles that emphasize the geometries of the facades and the intersection of openings and lights that exist between the spaces. Further, as a typical economic construction of its time, the construction system follow basic principles, with internal walls in lightweight timber stud partitions, brick and stone external walls, timber joist structured wooden floors, and openings structured with solid bricks rather than with masonry lintels.

the project revives historic homes in Portugal with contemporary interventions

a new red staircase evoking the neighboring bullfighting arena becomes the centrepiece

the metallic materiality infuses a modern character

injecting color rooted in the site’s context

openings are structured with solid bricks rather than with masonry lintels

wooden floors, white doors, bare cement and white tiles emphasize the geometries of the facade

the architects converted the original four apartments into two with a central courtyard and hydraulic infrastructure core

project info:

name: 2 Houses in Setúbal
architecture: Lioz Arquitetura

lead architects: André Costa and Marina Malagolini

location: Setúbal, Portugal

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edited by: ravail khan | designboom