PARAÍSO'S APARTAMENT

The integration of the kitchen and social area and the expansion of the living room were the primary intervention premises. A concealed inverted beam in the wall between the living room and bedroom became apparent during the demolition and required a strategy to connect these two spaces separated by the structural element above the floor. It was decided to use the support beam for a piece of furniture facing both sides, dividing the areas without visually separating them and allowing for different types of use.

The need for two suites required rethinking the service area, which no longer had a small poorly ventilated and poorly lit bathroom. Instead, a bathroom was built with access from the main suite, and a guest toilet was added facing the corridor for common use. The wall dividing the kitchen from the service area was enclosed with sliding windows made of wood and glass, extending up to the ceiling, providing visual permeability from end to end and allowing natural light and ventilation to flow.

Throughout the project, a strategy was devised for the reuse of existing materials. With the help of a small-scale crusher, a variety of aggregates were produced on-site for reuse in subfloors, plastering mortar, rendering, countertops, and floors, as well as coverings and finishes. During the process, we developed our own material for the execution of floors and countertops called "entulhite," which utilizes crushed debris as an aggregate and resembles the well-known terrazzo. Solid bricks from wall openings were reused to construct the structures of the kitchen and service area countertops. Old tiles that covered the bathrooms were used as flooring and wall coverings in the balconies, applied in fragments.