The program for this project involved the joining of two overlapping apartments, in a housing tower built in the 1980s near Sete Rios, in Lisbon. The family already lived on the upper floor.
Two important differences on the two floors: the lower floor was unoccupied and kept the balconies open, while on the upper floor they had been closed. Thus, despite being higher, the latter had much less light than the lower floor.
There were two initial options that were fundamental: making the entrance and common areas on the lower floor, and demolishing a section of slab on the upper floor to create a double-height area at the entrance. These options allowed for fundamental changes in the experience of the space: being able to enjoy the outdoor space of the balcony, which is generous and protected from the winds, and having an area of the house, the hall, which serves as the center and from which it is possible to communicate visually with the whole house.
This space also houses the staircase between the two floors, and works as a counterpoint to the rest of the space, both in scale (due to the double height ceiling) and in dimension, due to the vanishing points it establishes with all the rooms in the house.