CASA DO MAR, OEIRAS, 2023

The Casa do Mar, owned by the Municipality of Oeiras, was originally designed as a recreational pavilion for Dr. Augusto Soares by Porfírio Pardal Monteiro(1). It was not intended as a residence, comprising only a garage, sanitary facilities and living rooms. The building is located on Avenida Ivens (Marginal), in Dafundo, an area renowned for its early 20th-century summer houses.

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Pardal Monteiro signed the project for the recreational pavilion at the age of 27. The original design featured Art Deco elements also present in several of the architect's residential projects. However, the building as constructed was ultimately a simplified version of the original proposal, employing more conventional solutions. The only known building by Pardal Monteiro in Oeiras is also a rare example of early holiday architecture in Dafundo.

Based on survey, inspection and diagnostic studies, the project was developed in accordance with the owner's intentions, which are to maintain flexibility of use and preserve the building's defining characteristics while enhancing its value through continued occupation.

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We approached Casa do Mar with respect for the architects' original intentions, for the knowledge and craftsmanship embodied in the building, and for the mark it has left on Dafundo. In a rehabilitation project, it is important not only to preserve and restore, but also to provide the building with the conditions required for contemporary use or adaptation to a new programme. It is equally important to understand the building as it exists today, recognising the alterations made over time and discerning what should be preserved, reversed or introduced.

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In the case of Casa do Mar, a building largely composed of a generous open-plan space, intended to become an open-plan office, and a series of living rooms, intended to function as meeting and reception spaces, there are no programme requirements that demand alterations to the existing spatial subdivision. Therefore, in addition to the overall structural and architectural rehabilitation, the project focuses on creating the technical, lighting, thermal and aesthetic conditions required for a contemporary workplace.

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The intention is for the ground floor to retain its original character as a garage, defined by its exposed concrete floor finishes, brick vaults and visible steel beams. The sanitary facilities have lost their original character and will therefore be reorganised. The first floor consists of living rooms with decorative plaster ceilings, timber panelling and timber mouldings, with timber flooring throughout most of the space. The intervention prioritises the conservation of these original decorative elements, making use of the void beneath the timber floor to accommodate new building services. This floor also includes a balcony that, now enclosed with window frames, was most likely not originally designed in this way. The pantry will retain its current function, and its finishes appear to be original. The roof will be replaced and its structure restored, as its deterioration has been one of the principal causes of the building's decay over recent decades.

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(1) Building permit file no. 45/1924, Oeiras Municipal Archive.