Manchester Building

The main facade of this building in Anjos, typically an ordinary 20th-century residential building, is in total continuity with the street, but its external appearance reveals a recent intervention. The conservation of the old elements (door, balconies) and a careful choice of the materials applied are evident: window frames, the colour of the facade, zinc on the roof. In the entrance hall and communal staircase, the architectural choices are more expressive without deviating from the original logic of the building. Furthermore, what is sensed outside is then confirmed inside. On the one hand, the use of traditional materials – lioz limestone, pine wood, plaster ceilings – but on the other hand, the surprise of the pink painted wood or the design of the mailboxes. The atmosphere of refinement persists inside each flat, translating into a fusion between old elements and the design of new ones. Finally, at the back of the building, it was possible to fit a lift and, inside the apartments, the organisation of the space remains similar to the original.