Portuguese architect Miguel Marcelino renovated the interiors of an apartment in Odivelas, a small town near Lisbon that he describes as “having forgot, at some point during the 20th century, what architecture was”.
Odivelas apartment
In an attempt to improve what seems to be a hopless state of the art in local architecture, Miguel Marcelino renovated an apartment in Odivelas, Portugal, giving it a soul.
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- 26 May 2017
The usual problems of apartments and houses in this area include thermal discomfort, over-partitioned spaces, wasted areas lost to the exclusive use of corridors, balconies facing north, undersized and underlit living-rooms, enclosed balconies used as storage rooms, small bathrooms crammed with appliances, as well as a considerable amount of noise caused by plastic lids, junction boxes, cable conduits, siphons, in addition to the usual protrusions of pillars and beams. A real nightmare.
His proposal is to give a small contribution to the soul of the apartment, for the happiness in the daily-life of its future users, rather than solving technical and functional problems. To do so, the rooms have been redefined, smoothing the limits between living-room, kitchen, office and south-east balcony, providing a greater integration and closeness when living the social areas.
Odivelas apartment, Odivelas, Portugal
Program: apartment
Architect: Miguel Marcelino
Collaborator: Débora Martins
General contractor: Vassalo & Sousa
Area: 86 sqm
Completion: 2017