To Return is a refuge for a writer. The existing structure, formerly her grandmother’s home, served as a backdrop throughout the author’s childhood. The emotional and material significance is, therefore, of utmost importance: each door carries a story, every corner holds a poignant memory. Working within this fabric is always a journey into the past, still alive through the physical matter of the building and the memories woven within it.
The challenge was to introduce outdoor connections within the small plot and activate the attic, which had previously been used only for storage and little else.
Through small and economical gestures, the aim is to address the omissions noted by the writer:
- The demolition of one annex and the opening of the floor create a small garden — setting foot on the ground is the first connection to the outside.
- A ‘fenêtre en longueur’ allows the kitchen to absorb the distant landscape, blurring the barriers between interior and exterior; when the window is open, the kitchen becomes a loggia, when closed, it functions as a dining room — this interior-exterior kitchen is the second means of connection.
- The roof is recessed to create a terrace, accessible via a dormer that grants the necessary height for the attic to become habitable — this terrace, offering views of the surrounding landscape and the Marvão castle, is the third connection to the outside.
These larger gestures are complemented by surgical incisions inside: a new staircase connects all floors, and certain walls are demolished to create more generous spaces and relationships between rooms. The walls are finished with mirrors and pine pilasters, seeking to dissolve the thicknesses and materiality of the construction, creating a series of planes that project in ways difficult for the eye to fully comprehend. The scars left by these interventions are celebrated, marked in marble on the floors, walls, and ceilings. Much like in the art of Kintsugi, when something breaks, it is repaired with a precious material to honor the history of the object.
2024
Location: St. António das Areias, Portugal
Programme: Dwelling
Surface: 120m2
Status: In progress
Client: Private