The intervention consists of the transformation of a single-family house built in the 60s of the twentieth century into a Kindergarten and an after-school club (ATL).
Studio Name: André Tavares Arquitecto + Inês Pimentel
Website: www.andretavares.net
Architecture: André Eduardo Tavares and Inês Pimentel
Collaborators: Maria Inês Pimentel
Location: Fânzeres, Gondomar (Portugal)
Area of construction: 288,82 m
Project Date: 2013-2014
Engineering: L2M Lda., Norteng – Engenharia Lda.
Constructor: Albano Silva Correia – Construção Civil
Photography: Arménio Teixeir
The original building was a typical single-family house of the urban periphery, with two floors, isolated and implanted in front of the street. The ground floor was occupied by the garage and service areas, and its relationship with the private surrounding outside area was essentially made through small openings near the ceiling.
The kindergarten was placed on the ground floor and the after-school club on the first floor. The two activities coexist on the same premises and share infrastructures such as the entrance and reception space, kitchen and dining space, sanitary facilities and outdoor recreation.
The programmatic adaptation required the reorganization of interior spaces and circulation areas. The vertical accesses have been adapted to receive a vertical lift platform to make the whole building accessible. This adaptation is combined with the design of a large entrance space for children’s reception.
The new program also required an expansion of the construction area, which was done through two volumes implanted laterally between the original building and the west boundary of the lot, in an area that previously served as a service passage to the backyard. They are separated by a small patio that provides lighting, ventilation and access to a technical area. The new volumes are set back in relation to the street facade and the back of the main volume, maintaining a secondary and complementary character. Adjacent to the street, the indentation defines a small patio with direct connection to the kitchen, providing a service entrance.
It was necessary to redesign the elevations of the main volume, namely on the ground floor, to extend the area of contact with the exterior. The new design follows the metrics of the upper floor windows, opening glazed doors that allow direct access to the exterior areas of the enclosure. With this change, the building acquired a more open and regular character, suitable for its new function.
The architectural language and composition logic of the new elevations, either on the ground floor of the main volume or in the new extended volumes, are close to the pre-existing ones. The project sought to maintain the original architectural identity of the building. Although it can be considered just a common construction, it has value as a testimony of a specific time and as part of a natural and coherent context.
