This architectural intervention in Alcobaça proposes the refurbishment of a flat, respecting its traditional character and layout and introducing a contemporary approach, restrained and consistent with the existing building.
The project rests on a reordering of how the home is lived in socially, inverting the arrangement that was there before: the living areas move to the main elevation, gaining better daylight and a direct relationship with the street, while the kitchen stays at the rear. The change makes a single continuous open-plan space, more fluid, better ventilated and brighter, where daylight follows the day's routine as life in the house unfolds between the kitchen and the sitting area.
The new arrangement also makes more of the relationship with the setting. The kitchen and the central bathroom core hold a visual link to the Monastery, while the dining area frames views of the Castle and the Monastery at once.
The sitting room, turned towards the front elevation, has a direct view of the Castle. The living areas now hold the best views, reversing the earlier arrangement, in which they were reserved for the bedrooms.
Taking advantage of the slope of the roof, the project introduces variations in ceiling height that enliven the space and enrich the interior experience without compromising its unity.
The materiality follows a natural, timeless language, marked by dark-toned timber, microcement and softly textured surfaces, with details in aged steel that reinforce the restrained character of the works.
The result is a more open, brighter and more coherent space, where the contemporary approach sits in balance with the identity of the building.
- Project
- P067 _ Duarte Pacheco
- Location
- Alcobaça, Portugal
- Project stage
- Concept design . 2026
- Area
- 120 m²
- Architecture
- Nova Origem Arquitectos
- Client
- Private
- 3D modelling
- Nova Origem Arquitectos
