Portuguese firm A+R Arquitectos installed this staircase with floating wooden treads and a zig-zag hand rail as part of the renovation of a Portuguese house.
Called PAC House, the three-storey project has parking and the entrance on the ground floor, kitchen, dining living room and bathroom on the first floor and bedrooms at the top of the staircase.
Photographs are by Nelson Garrido unless otherwise stated.
More extensions and renovations on Dezeen »
More residential architecture on Dezeen »
More photography by Nelson Garrido »
The following information is from the architects:
From the original building, localized in a context of a consolidated but chaotic city, we valued the stone masonry walls and the spatiality of the envelope.
The new objects added inside suggest the clear reading of these limits which they tend not to touch.
The intervention goals are twofold: to preserve the original character, through a careful balance between old and new; and to create living conditions compatible with contemporary habits.
Click for larger image
See also:
.
 |
 |
 |
| Heliotrope Raising by Bang Architectes |
51A Gloucester Crescent by John Glew | Vol House by Estudio BaBO |
it's a cunning architectural trap for unwary kids and old people
i do like that the rail goes between the treads though
rest of the house is boring whitewashed modernism, doesn't fit with the beautiful front facade at all
it really looks like place where i want to live! pure beauty…
One of the best renovation jobs I’ve ever seen. Love the zigzag.
sure, it's uber contemporary, "whitewashed" modernism but I really like the project. From the presentation of the drawings and diagrams to the execution. It's a confined space that feels so much more open with the presence of light and the treatment of the materials. I appreciate the spatial layouts of the separate floors, the lines, the lighting, and the treatment of the walls.
Crisp is what comes to mind. No untidy edges. The great thing is it will force its inhabitants to eschew "stuff" that inevitably comes to fill up such a compact space otherwise.
I'm a bit confused about the bathroom, are there 2? and why would you have a shower with the livingroom?
I like the block though. But I'm not so sure about the 'special' character of the staircase, it's nice, but…
All and all it seems to be a pretty decent renovation, well detailed, very portuguese.
just love the materials