A vacant building in an advanced state of deterioration, occupying an axial position on a pedestrian street in the historic centre of Loulé, was rehabilitated to accommodate an office programme, specifically the architecture studio itself.

With minimal interventions to the building’s three ‘faces’, preserving its integration within the urban context, the design focuses on light, spaciousness, levels, and materiality within the interior. Featuring a square footprint and a traditional pitched roof, the programme is organised through a generous open-plan workspace on the ground floor. At the rear, a monochromatic volume supports and consolidates the building’s service functions, incorporating a kitchenette, a full bathroom, technical facilities, and storage areas.

This volume also defines a slightly elevated outdoor space — a courtyard that provides natural light and ventilation — and a sculpted staircase leads to a mezzanine entirely clad in wood.

The spaces are not physically enclosed; instead, colour and materiality, strongly rooted in earthy tones and natural elements, delineate, organise, and define the different environments without compromising the overall unity and spatial fluidity of the project.