Project
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“A house within a house” describes almost entirely the idea behind this rehabilitation project, which was to create an infra-structurally independent apartment, occupying unused areas of the main house, located in the basement.
The interior connections with the rest of the house were removed, developing an isolated pocket inside the main house's outer shell, that would become a three-bedroom apartment that shares only the exterior existing circulations and street entrances. This intervention extended exclusively to the interior space, repurposing even the deepest corners, previously used for storage, into habitable quality areas.
Natural light became of a major concern as well as ventilation, due to the fact that only the entrance facade is completely exposed to the sun’s rays, unhindered and unobscured. Therefore, the most important spaces were placed hierarchically, so that they assume a natural capacity to oxygenate the entire apartment in the most possible salubrious way.
Along with the social area, a gallery was created, an elevated floor space that circumscribes the living and dining room, to exhibit art-related objects of interest, placed underneath the ground floor outdoor circulation, which is equipped with several skylights. This gallery is defined by a sequence of round arches that generates an evident distinction from the other social spaces, where the light design fixtures play an important role as well, throughout the development of a unique atmosphere. The wide entrance foyer connects with the living room through a deep vaulted ceiling arch, a sort of tunnel that produces an important node in the transition of spaces, slowly revealing the apartment's true nature.
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Location
Al Nuzha, Kuwait
Year
2017
Built-up Area
392 sqm
Status
Complete












Team
Pedro Miranda, Telmo Rodrigues
Carla Barroso, Duarte Correia, Lionel Estriga, Luís Esteves, Michel Silvestre
Graphic Design: Aquilino Sotero, Diogo Monteiro
Consultants
Light Design: Light Design Portugal
Site Supervision: AsBuilt - Bruno Rosa
Photography
João Morgado