Tiago do Vale Architects and the Three Cusps Chalet

Tiago do Vale Architects refurbished an old house in Braga, Portugal, which won the American Architecture Prize. They stripped away a century of layers to bring the historic building back to its former glory, with a wink at contemporaneousness.



Any refurbishment of historical buildings is a delicate operation, and in Braga, Portugal Tiago do Vale has respected both the original structure of the three cusps chalet and the client brief, which required it to be suitable for the needs of modern living and working.



The original 19th century building looks rather unusual in the urban Portuguese setting. The reason being that the Alpine chalet appearance of this home was common in Brazil in the early 1800s, and it came to Portugal with Brazilian expats as they returned to their motherland.



The house was originally built in the 1800s as an annex to a sumptuous palazzo, located in central Braga, embraced by the ancient Roman and medieval walls. An abundance of natural light flows in through the westerly street facade and the back that opens onto an inner courtyard.





Tiago do Vale worked to restore the building to its original splendour, and more importantly to its natural place on the street, after it had been dulled by 120 years of all kinds of additions and interventions. They returned the facades to their original appearance (the green colour was a hommage to the flag of Brazil), so Three Cusps Chalet now looks exactly right on the outside, and they recuperated the interior to provide a living/working space for the client.





Tiago do Vale opted to maintain the original spatial layout of three levels practically and visually connected by the stairs, adding a skylight that brings in even more light to the Three Cusps Chalet. The dominant white colour is offset by light wood and granite accents.



This delicate and at the same time bold refurbishment has earned the project by the Portuguese architect a number of awards, the most recent being the prestigious Bronze Winner in the American Architecture Prize 2016, in addition to being Shortlisted for the National Urban Rehabilitation Award 2014 in Portugal, just to name a couple.

Christiane Bürklein

Project: Tiago do Vale Architects, tiagodovale.com
Location: Braga. Portugalo
Year: 2014
Images: João Morgado
Video https://youtu.be/fki44HUBXgA
Thanks to v2com