Chameleon going down the stairs

colectivoMEL approaches heritage with critical respect, understanding that it is inevitably part of the present. This stance leads us to seek new ways of connecting different times, the many pasts and the present, in a single, continuous dialogue, exploring the uniqueness of every detail: a faux stucco finish, a carving, or simply the way light reflects off a particular surface.

This process calls for close attention to each of the parts that make up the whole, and it can only be achieved through time and presence on site, both during design and throughout construction. It is during this period that other uses and other lives of the building are revealed. They are often more coherent, and often the spark for a particular architectural solution.

The project adapts a house to its new inhabitants, seeking to reflect their ways of living and their particular outlooks through unifying yet singular gestures.

As the house had already been largely rehabilitated, with mainly the finishes left to complete, the project sets aside the conventional sequence of design phases and moves directly to the pre-construction stage. This unusual approach, guided by a clear framework, allows for a more focused and objective process.