Project
Casa das Gárgulas

Category 
Best Implemented Restoration / Reconstruction Project

About the project
In a simple and contemporary language, the dwellings were dimensioned with comfortable and cozy environments. Natural lighting was privileged for the new spaces. In some compartments, the walls were interrupted before the ceiling, thus favoring the expansion of light on the apartment's surface.
Its entire interior, predominantly white, is contrasted by the varnished wood finish on the floor.
Recovering the original construction techniques, structurally, wood was used to materialize and enhance the floors and roof.
In terms of elevations, the main façade was preserved, one of the few walls and walls practically unchanged, with emphasis on the stonework and the three existing gargoyles.
On the ground floor the entrance of vehicles already existed, having been reinterpreted through meshed doors creating transparency and spaciousness.
The ruined façade was rebuilt as far as possible, in which rhythms of openings similar to the building's pre-existing language were created.

Location
Rua da Bandeira, n.º282 a 288, Viana do Castelo, Portugal

Project implementation year
2019

Project website
https://valdemarcoutinho.com/projeto/casa-das-gargulas/

Additional information
https://design.museaward.com/winner-info.php?id=1770
https://premio.vidaimobiliaria.com/candidatos
https://valdemarcoutinho.com/vencedor-no-architect-of-the-year-awards-2020-na-categoria-renovation/

Applicant and authors of the project
Valdemar Coutinho Arquitectos.
Architecture, urbanism, design firm, based in Portugal, founded by Valdemar Coutinho, in 2001. It has a multidisciplinary team, with which they develop various types of projects for private entities or with special attention to cost savings and sustainability in all of them.
We have in our path several works awarded by the most prestigious world organizations of architecture and design, highlighted in several publications and international platforms.

Other participants
Constructor: Quinta das Mouramas
Photographer: João Morgado