In Alves Sardinha house there was a strong pre-existence, on which a huge base covered the entire plot of land, since its original construction, and which remained almost unchanged even after the deep intervention that the house suffered.

This base, which raises the entire lot 4 meters above the level of the road, remains a memory of what it once was. The great transformation appears on the 2 floors above this base, which will only be integrated in the entire existence, but also with its pre-existence, in a new intervention that would have to unite the entire proposal.

Keeping a substantial part of the original house, 2 floors are born. The first one, of a social nature, maintains an implantation similar to the small house that existed. But, above it, we now have a new floor that supports the most private program with 3 suites.

The 2 upper floors are transformed from 2 strong concrete slabs that define the entire language of architecture, uniting the entire house in a single aesthetic proposal. These “reinforced concrete boxes”, highlighted by the formwork, color and texture of the concrete, cross the entire house, creating a sheltered entrance area in the living room, developing a suspended balcony for the master bedroom on the top floor, and creating the bases for the window cutouts that rest on the formwork.

It is from these “concrete slabs” that the entire house gains some unity, creating some illusion that the house already existed here, in this way, for a long time. But no, the house is very different from what it used to be, and it now claims to be integrated in its time, assuming its contemporaneity, but perfectly integrating itself into the surroundings.

Its small garden, which has remained unchanged, is fully utilized. Entering through the living room and inviting to socialize. Inside, the house faces the extraordinary view of the bay of Funchal.

The creation came from the trust of a long friendship, the freedom that these friends of mine gave me to be able to work and the vision we had together to transform the existing house into a new and contemporary home. A house whose architecture is calmly asserted, in the midst of older houses on Rua da Levada dos Barreiros, overlooking the Marítimo stadium and in the heart of Funchal.