Asserted in plain sight – Portugal

RGM 46 duplex apartment is a refurbishment project located in Lisbon, Portugal, within a small terrace on the roof consisting of a living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. The renovation starting point revolved around dividing up the social area and the private space of the apartment through the two floors.
Designed by DC.AD the lower floor walls were removed in order to give way to a single and wide space destined to the living room. For that, it was necessary to reinforce the apartment structure with a new structural system composed by beams and steel columns, which were left in plain sight and asserted themselves as the project theme.
A new structure was introduced and attached to the north wall, which is constituted by an abstract panels line that integrates the new kitchen cabinets, storage area and the access to the staircase that allows access to the upper floor. The introduction of this new bulk seeks, on the one hand, solve with a single gesture the incorporation of all the kitchen functions, and, on the other hand, aims to provide to the space a single and continuous background. The gray panels along with the same colour ceiling, defines, by the use of the colour, a spatial distinction with the bright living area, emphasised by the several white tones of the surfaces and by the rhythm of the wood structure that marks the ceiling of the space.
On the upper floor there is a suite designed as an open space. The space has a continuous floor and ceiling, although it is separated through the strategic position of furniture pieces that create different hierarchies of the space use.
In general, the intervention intends to clarify the space, creating wide and communicative divisions among them through a flow and obstacle-free movement. The subtle variations among the spaces are meticulously made through the design, furniture position and the careful utilisation of colour.