12-14,
Casa da Severa
The aim of this design project is to transform a residential building in Largo da Severa, the former Rua do Capelão, in Lisbon’s Mouraria district into a cultural facility known as the Casa da Severa. The original building, which had three oors and an attic level and contained six dwellings, presented a variety of structural problems and habitational de ciencies, e.g. de cient sanitary installations and patently small living spaces, as a result of successive conversions and divisions of the internal spaces. In order to adapt the existing space to its new public purpose, the decision was made to gut the building and retain only its exterior, thus maintaining its strong urban identity. The café/restaurant – the main space in the new facility
– is accessed directly from the public space by means of a ight of steps. This staircase simultaneously functions as an external convivial space. The main room takes full advantage of the maximum interior height available, with a ceiling height of 6.50 m. One of this room’s walls also serves as a surface for video projections. The ground oor houses all the facility’s technical areas, such as the kitchen, toilets and bathrooms and storage spaces. An elevator provides access for people with reduced mobility to all of the facility’s public spaces.
