Santos Pousada Apartments by Hinterland Architecture Studio in Porto, Portugal

Santos Pousada Apartments by Hinterland Architecture Studio in Porto, Portugal

The Santos Pousada Apartments are located on the top floor of a building designed by Portuguese architects Arminio Losa and Cassiano Barbosa in the middle of the 20th century. Built in 1956 as a rental residential home, the upper floor was originally intended to be an external semi-open space. During initial construction, this area was adapted into two symmetrical apartments that mirrored the layout of other floors. This programmatic reconfiguration accounts for some of the most unique formal elements of the apartment: concrete structural components and window dimensions covering 55% of the façade.

The project's goal was to fully modernize the original three-room apartment with a total area of 80 sq m into a more comfortable two-bedroom apartment for a young couple with a child, a dog, an office, and a library without compromising the original mid-century modern style.

The project strategy focused on creating a central open space where the family spends most of their time, expanding its area by removing some internal walls. This includes a living area, dining space, library and office. Various spaces are organized using three types of wooden elements: freestanding, aligned along walls and partitions that sometimes completely replace the walls between rooms. Remaining spaces are secondary and minimized, with fully enclosed cabinetry for housing technology infrastructure and storage.

Selected materials are largely determined by the original design. Original wooden floors and doors were restored, while existing terrazzo floors were replaced with new ones rising to plastered walls. Natural wooden elements use mahogany from the original project, while light wooden fillings were replaced with lacquered and painted MDF. The dark tone of the wooden elements balances natural lighting provided by large windows. The atmosphere of solid wooden panels completes a 65-year rental housing tenure and introduces the intended permanent domestic ambiance into the space.

-Project description and images provided by Ivo Tavares Studio