Project
Residencia Santa Clara

Category 
Best Implemented Restoration/Reconstruction Project 

About the project
Located barely a few meters from Havana Bay, the studio for Santa Clara residence involved a complex research process. The residence is part of a corner-building unity from the 19th century with patrimonial value. To turn it back into a boutique guesthouse of four levels, incorporating new communal spaces and extending the housing depth of the building. The addition of the new volume is conditioned by the surrounding heights. The new spaces were managed to be naturally ventilated and lighted without being detrimental to the neighboring buildings. The communal places, such as courtyards, inner galleries and corridors were reinterpreted in the new project, paying special attention to the new passageways, which are designed to yield prominence to the bedrooms. All finishes, woodwork, ironwork and furniture in this project are determined by a close relationship of collaboration established among local artists, artisans, carpenters and ironworkers.

Location
Havana, Cuba

Project implementation year
2019

More project images
https://www.archdaily.com/944777/santa-clara-residence-ad-urbis-arquitectos


Additional information
https://www.archdaily.com/952062/archdaily-selects-the-best-young-practices-of-2020
https://www.archdaily.com/956178/the-state-of-architecture-archdaily-2021-trend-forecasting-and-analytics
https://www.plataformaarquitectura.cl/cl/955580/ad-urbis-los-estudios-de-arquitectura-son-un-concepto-obsoleto-para-operar-en-cuba

Applicant and authors of the project
Ad Urbis Arquitectos. Time management process that promotes architectural research, theory and practice between the fields of design and education. Based in Havana city from 2017.

Other participants
Engineering: Marisol Marrero Oliva, Enrique Lopez Zimerman, Odrasir Ruiz González, Ingeniero Armando Quiñones
Collaborators: Nelsón Ponce, Edel Rodriguez Molano (Mola), Gabriel Lara (Gabo), Yaimel López