Residential ArchitectureApartmentsCaminha Refurbishment: A Graphical Refurbishment by the Sea

Caminha Refurbishment: A Graphical Refurbishment by the Sea

Caminha Refurbishment

Architects: Tiago do Vale Arquitectos
Project: Caminha Refurbishment
Team: Tiago do Vale, María Cainzos Osinde, Hugo Quintela, Louane Papin
Completed: 2016
Location: Caminha, Portugal
Construction: Casas do Lima ®, Limiavez L.da
Area: 40 m2
Photography: João Morgado

Caminha Refurbishment is a renovation project of an 40 sqm apartment in Caminha, Portugal. This charming small apartment was completed in 2016 by Tiago do Vale Arquitectos.

Project description: Built in the 80’s, this apartment was in dire need of refurbishment. Both its infrastructures and organization were dated, so the intention was to make the most of its potentialities while bringing its living experience to contemporary standards.

Caminha Refurbishment 1
With just over 400 ft2 (40 m2) of surface, this small apartment by the sea was unwelcoming due to a choice of darker materials, 30 years of intense use and a not particularly qualified compartmentation (though in tune with its time).

Caminha Refurbishment 2

The client required a functional and infrastructural update while maintaining the original organization (with an independent bedroom) and keeping the costs down.

Caminha Refurbishment 3

The practice’s strategy was to enhance the perception of the apartment’s light and space by utilizing both a very minimal approach and the repetition of the white color.

Caminha Refurbishment 4

The central piece of this project, though, is a blue volume that solves simultaneously the apartment’s doors and the kitchen cabinets, an integral gesture that brings color but specially a playful, unpretentious tone to the whole apartment. With its blue hue and integrated hooks for the beach accessories, it brings the summer inside.

Caminha Refurbishment 5

Half of the dividing wall between bedroom and living room was turned into a sliding panel, while still maintaining the original door placement on the bedroom. This allows for both an open space experience -which quite suits the diminute area of the apartment- or a more conventional one at the clients’ discretion.

dining room and kitchen, Tiago do Vale Arquitectos
While this design is clearly contemporary there was always a willingness to keep textured surfaces and detailing that would still give a humanized scale to the spaces. The project achieved that with a wink to the 80’s of the original construction, maintaining the ceiling moldings and introducing a surface of patterned tiles on the kitchen area.

kitchen, Tiago do Vale Arquitectos

This small apartment provides a relaxing experience, bringing the beach inside, and is now fit for 30 more years of simple, joyful use.

Caminha Refurbishment 8

Caminha Refurbishment 8

Caminha Refurbishment 9

interior design, Tiago do Vale Arquitectos

bedroom, Tiago do Vale Arquitectos

Caminha Refurbishment 14

Caminha Refurbishment 17

bathroom, Tiago do Vale Arquitectos

Caminha Refurbishment 19

bathroom, Tiago do Vale Arquitectos

bathroom, Tiago do Vale Arquitectos

Thank you for reading this article!

Subscribe to our newsletter

OBITOVANA 5019: A Highly Topical Product Design Collaboration About Our Future

A workshop of Ukrainian design and architecture Makhno Studio in collaboration with a couture design studio Kofta in 2019 presented a collection of furniture and accessories OBITOVANA 5019

A’ Design Awards & Competition – Winners

As supporters of innovative and creative work, we are pleased to share our curated top choices of this year’s A’ Design Award and Competition winners.

Sonoma Farmhaus by SkB Architects

The Sonoma Farmhaus project was designed for a cycling enthusiast with a globally demanding professional career, who wanted to create a place that could serve as both a retreat of solitude and a hub for gathering with friends and family.

Armadale Crescent Residence / Klopper and Davis Architects

The Armadale Crescent residence makes the most of a north facing view across a valley to a local park with the foot print heavily influenced by the block shape.

Oxygen House in Costa Brava / Susanna Cots Interior Design

Luxury single family home, new build, located in the heart of the Baix Empordà area. The house has 5 large suites, each with their own full bathroom. The main suite has a surface of 53 m², with a bedroom, bathroom and dressing room and offers magnificent views of the garden and the swimming pool, with access to the same.

Recommended Stories