The AN apartment, designed by the NMD arq architectural office, is located along Avenida Almirante Reis in Lisbon. It is part of a building built in the 40s, known for its Art Nouveau decorative elements.
The AN apartment, designed by the NMD arq architecture office, is located along one of Lisbon's main arteries, Avenida Almirante Reis. This apartment is part of a building built in the 40s, designed by the architect Manuel Norte Junior (1878-1962). The works of this architect are easily recognizable thanks to the presence of decorative elements inspired by Art Nouveau, which can be admired in various works awarded with the prestigious Valmor award in the city of Lisbon.
The building in question is one of the architect's latest projects, built at a time when Norte Júnior was trying to distance itself from the eclecticism with which it was usually associated. Despite this, the architect managed to leave his mark in a way that mirrored the emerging modernism of the time. This is reflected both in the building itself and in the apartment, which, despite the modifications made over time, has kept some decorative elements of the time, such as the worked ceilings in the social areas.
The project mainly focuses on adapting the existing spaces to contemporary needs, while preserving the historical identity and value still present in the apartment. The apartment has two separate entrances: one main and one service which leads directly to the kitchen. The idea is to maintain the spatial hierarchy and the accesses, proposing the introduction of a small vestibule in the main entrance, the renovation of the kitchen area and the transformation of the apartment into a residence with two bedrooms, one of which is the main room with ample closet space and a small office.
The project preserves the existing social spaces, maintaining their dimensions and therefore the ceilings. The lack of a vestibule in the apartment, with access immediately preceded by a transit corridor, presented a challenge for the introduction of this area in a small space devoid of natural light. The solution was partially solved by partially opening the vestibule towards the library, separating them with a bench and a slide suspended in a mirror.
The vestibule marks the first entrance to the apartment, allowing connection to the interior through two large doors: a sliding door that leads to the living room and another hinged door that opens onto the long corridor that allows access to the other rooms. The corridor is characterized by a reinterpretation of the wainscoting, with a horizontal band and a vertical rib in white lacquered wood, a feature that is also found in the vestibule.
Crossing the corridor leads to the living rooms and dining rooms, which communicate with each other and with the living room and library. Each of these spaces is distinguished by carved ceilings that give them a unique character. The kitchen, also accessible from the corridor, has undergone a profound transformation to make it more functional and suitable for modern needs. The addition of a colored three-dimensional ceramic mosaic cladding gave a touch of liveliness to this environment. The kitchen also overlooks a large balcony which leads to the maid's room and laundry area.
Finally, the most private area of the apartment consists mainly of two bedrooms and a service bathroom dedicated to one of the bedrooms. The master bedroom is separated from the wardrobe area by a small transit corridor. This bedroom is characterized not only by its worked ceiling, but also by the bed wall, which is made up of vertical walnut wood elements that also serve as a source of lighting for the room. The closet area leads to the office and private bathroom.
The transformation of these spaces, especially the kitchen and master bedroom, required a more significant structural intervention to ensure the integrity of the building. A structural reinforcement solution was adopted through a steel structure suitably connected to the existing elements, such as wooden slabs, clay brick walls and external stone walls.
While respecting the original materiality, it was possible to recover most of the existing wooden floors, replacing only the damaged ones in wet areas such as the kitchen and bathrooms. Some wooden elements, such as doors and baseboards, have been partially restored or replaced with replicas to preserve the historical value of the spaces.
The new materials and elements introduced harmonize with the existing ones, offering an aesthetic and functional value to the entire proposal. For example, the wainscoting, with its ribbed design, is reflected in the kitchen island and its cover, made with specially designed handcrafted ceramic.
The lighting proposal, mainly with indirect light, becomes the protagonist in some spaces, while in others it provides help to highlight particular pieces or decorative elements.
In addition to preserving the original features of the apartment, great importance was placed on safeguarding the valuable furniture and decorative pieces that the owners wished to keep. This need guided the development of the project, trying to find specific spaces to place these objects, integrating them into the overall architectural ensemble.
project info
Project name: Apartment AN
Architecture Office: NMD arq
Main Architect: Nuno Miguel Dias
Collaborations: Pedro Vieira
Website: www.nmdarq.pt
Email: info@nmdarq.pt
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nmdarq/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nmd.arq/
Location: Lisbon
Year of conclusion: 2022
total area: 255,00m2
Builder: Oficina dos Sonhos, Lda
Inspection: My project, Lda
Engineering: My project, Lda
Light Design: nmd arq
Fluid Engineering: My project, Lda
Thermal Engineering: My project, Lda
Interior Design: nmd arq
Architectural photographer: Ivo Tavares Studio
Website: www.ivotavares.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ivotavaresstudio
Instagram: www.instagram.com/ivotavaresstudio
