ESQVTA refurbishes apartment within 17th-century building in lisbon, portugal

situated within a seventeenth-century building in lisbon, portugal, interior design studio ESQVTA has refurbished a large first-level apartment. the old structure was initially designed as a ‘hotel particulier’, and thus, the whole intervention was carried out with discretion, respecting the pre-existing distinct architecture. 

dining room
all images by ricardo oliveira alves

‘when intervening in a space such as this apartment, it is essential to intervene in the cleanest manner possible’ ESQVTA shares. ‘more than to propose, it is necessary to omit, to refurbish, and to integrate’ the studio adds. the apartment occupies the entire 1st floor, which was originally dedicated to the social areas – namely 11 parlors, one of which was used as a bathroom. as the social floor, almost all of the walls and ceilings of these rooms were decorated with rich mural paintings.

dining room

the new owner of the apartment needed a living space, efficiently adapted to a family structure. the new program is based on preserving the architectural heritage of the property, while also adapting it to this family’s needs – it goes from having, for instance, one bathroom to having six, without compromising the pre-existing features.

bedroom

during the project, the designers always had in mind that the new should not compete or try to silence the old. the refurbishment was meant to be respectful of its seventeenth century heritage and discreet in shape and materiality choices, while the also integrating a careful selection of twenty first century furniture pieces, selected to generate a combination of the best of both eras. in a way, with this renovation, history gets re-written with a new language and new pieces combined to create ‘a house to be lived’.

living room

bathroom

bathroom

bathroom

bathroom

living room

bedroom

kitchen

project info:

name: CR apartment
architects: ESQVTA
lead architect: vitor almeida
location: rua s.mamede, lisbon, portugal
area: 315.00 m2

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: myrto katsikopoulou | designboom