Montevideu House

In 1937, in Montevideu Avenue, one of the great arteries of the city's seafront, the Architect José Porto, influenced by the modern movement and the rationalism of Le Corbusier, projected José Prata de Lima house. The house, with a purist language, assumed a constrast with the excessive nobility of the neighboring buildings, mostly houses inspired in brasilian mansions. Unfortunately, in the date that we started this project, the house, result of several owners and uses, that hosted the last 70 years, has undergone significant changes, that didn't dignify the original work. In a new phase of its “life”, with a new owner and especially, with a city that has been transformed in these past 70 years, the intervention seeks to reinstate the essence behind the project of José Porto, enhancing the image and purist language that the building supports. The shape and the façades remain, the dissonant elements that were added later are demolished, gearing up the house, as in his original design, towards the light and the sea. The house is reorganized in the three existing floors, bedrooms on the upper floor, living room, dining room and kitchen on the entrance floor and a second living area and other services on the basement. A set of three courtyards will enlight the new spaces created in the basement. The used materials are referred to the ones that José Porto used in the original design, from the traditional portuguese architecture, with wooden flooring, masonary and stucco ceilings and water areas in natural stones. architecture : barbosa & guimarães josé antónio barbosa pedro lopes guimarães co-workers: raul pereira ana campante paulo lima filipe secca eunice lopes daniela teixeira mafalda santiago construction company nve engenharias s.a. combitur – construções imobiliárias e turísticas s.a. site supervision ergo – arquitectura e engenharia associadas lda – tiago guimarães