josé pedro lima turns butcher shop into skylit space in portugal

josé pedro lima gives new life to old butcher shop in portugal

Architect José Pedro Lima has recently converted the old Central Butcher Shop in Portugal‘s downtown Coimbra into a minimalist real estate space punctuated by neat white walls, wooden tones, and generous daylight. In addition to preserving the original butcher shop’s marble flooring, Lima took advantage of the interior compartments, making slight surgical alterations that fit into the new program photographed by Ivo Tavares. While the main room of the new retail space retained practically the previous configuration, the former meat cutting area has been transformed into a meeting room, and a small kitchen replaces the old refrigeration chamber.

all images © Ivo Tavares Studio

restoring skylights amid a white and minimal backdrop

The Central Butcher Shop conversion by José Pedro Lima (see more here) also included the restoration of existing skylights, which were previously blocked off, and the coating of all walls in a white shade to minimize the use of artificial lighting, restoring natural illumination to the interior spaces. The different lighting configurations correspond to additional uses of the spaces — the meeting room and kitchen. Thanks to a transition in flooring and baseboards, as well as the centrality conferred by the conference table, the meeting room is perceived as a distinct space; here, the incidence of the corresponding skylight accentuates the desired solemn character of this space. ‘In summary, the aim was to retain and interpret the existing qualities of the butcher shop while also understanding the needs of the new program, with particular emphasis on proper natural lighting of the spaces,’ concludes the architect.

restoring the existing skylights