Casa Kala

This is a renovation project for accommodation in an old, detached house in the city center of Porto, Portugal.
The existing house was designed by Januário Godinho, a prominent Portuguese architect. However, as it had been left unused for almost 10 years, the roof and floor had fallen off, and it was an unlivable situation.
The building is almost rectangular, located in the center of the site, and has four floors including a basement and an attic. It is located on a higher level than the front street and is approached from the southwest using a ramp. Also, along the north wall, there is a one-story building that once housed a garage and laundry.
The renovated building has an entrance hall, two guest rooms, a reception, a dining room, a kitchen, and a bathroom on the first floor, and five guest rooms on the second floor, with stairs leading to the attic. Each room has its own bathroom. The original design of the staircase hall was kept as much as possible, and the existing plastered ceiling and chandelier were renovated. As for other parts, the external appearance was kept as unchanged as possible, and the internal parts were refurbished to match the current safety and environmental performance.
Regarding materiality, the building's exterior walls are made of stone, while inside, between the various rooms, the walls were made of partitions, which were replaced by plasterboard fixed to metal profiles. The stone is mostly in a good state of conservation, meaning the stone remains visible from the outside. The main stairwell was kept intact, as it is in excellent condition. The interior floors of the house are made of wood, except in the bathrooms and water areas where tiles will be laid. The flooring of the balconies will be maintained in the existing stone. The roof is in a state of deterioration, which is why it will be necessary to replace the roof structure and the roof, made of ceramic tiles.
The floors between the buildings are made up of materials that ensure the permeability of the terrain, including grass, granite cubes, gravel and terraway. The entrance floor of the existing building and the stairs will be made of granite stone.
The design and choice of materials aim to dialogue with the surroundings, maintaining the same chromatic tones and the same proportions and relationships with neighboring elevations.

Office: Ren Ito Arq.
Office Website: www.ren-ito.com
Office Email: renitoarq@gmail.com
Architecture: Ren Ito, Bernardo Faria, Michela Piddiu, Sofia Augusto, Eleonora Sucato, Rita Gomes, Naoto Kawakami, José Pedro Silva, Inês Ferrão, Gayané Djeranian, Yuko Inoue, Morgan Dano, Diana Todorova, Lilian Matsuda, João Brino, Rintaro Yamashita, Jan Binter, Silvia Snopková, Petr Lhot'na, Davide Bonizzato, Shinichi Kinumi, Stefania Restivo, Valentina Ceschi, Martina Caruso, Dominika Wal, Angelo Calabretti, Rossana Antenori, Katarina Mikulakova, Ivana Nechajova, Alzbetka Francisci, Arisa Tateishi, Martyna Kamińska and Korina Karavasili.
Construction: Empatobra Souda LDA. (Alexandre Sousa)
Project supervisor: Paulo Pinto
Structural Project: Filipa Abreu
Hydraulic Installations and Equipment: Fernanda Valente
Electrical, Telecommunications and Active Security Installations and Equipment: Alexandre F. Martins (GPIC, LDA)
HVAC and Ventilation Mechanical Installations and Equipment: Diogo Correia
Gas Installations and Equipment: Liliana Lourenço
Acoustic project: Liliana Lourenço
Thermal Project: Diogo Correia
Fire Safety Data Sheet: Liliana Lourenço