As part of an Urban Detail Plan, MASSLAB was invited to assess the feasibility of a new student residence in Carcavelos and develop its Concept Design, showcasing one possibility for the program while creating a new and attractive building that can answer to the client's standards.

Located on an old farm, the Quinta do Barão Student Residence site aims to refurbish the Quinta do Barão heritage buildings, as well as transform the old farm into a new urban park in the city of Carcavelos, in Cascais Municipality.

The placement of the building in the park seeks to establish, right from the beginning, an ideal integration and continuity of the building with the green areas, as well as with the existing buildings and the surrounding landscape, touching carefully on the natural environment and built legacy.

The new volume creates a new urban facade, parallel to the main axis of the old farm entrance along with the future bicycle path, and to the thoughtfully designed green corridor to the north part. Alongside, the new volume near the main existing axis creates a new cloister-like open space as an epicenter of the project. This site plan lets the park overrun into the interior of the residence, and instead of closing the space, it opens upon the surrounding nature, allowing the fruition of green and outdoor areas as spaces of leisure and enjoyment for all students.

The main entrance is located at the point of encounter of the new volume with the pre-existing one, made through a small square that communicates with the old entrance of Quinta do Barão, through a path that is comprised of new access to the park and bicycle lane, thus promoting soft mobility circulation. With the pavement design, we built a network of pathways and spaces, from the entrance to the interior of the courtyard, blurring into nature, as a transformed landscape.

Programmatically, we insert all the common areas in the pre-existing volume, with the rooms in the new wing. The courtyard develops in two levels, one connected directly with the common areas with paved areas, and the other down, a meadow where the residents can relax or do a number of outdoor activities.

The valorization of the public space and outdoor area is an important part of the project's initial idea, seeking the enhancement of the outdoor spaces, as well as promoting a unique interior–exterior relationship of the building. A direct approach to that idea is seen in the horizontal windows on the new facade, which allows a straight communication with the exterior, while framing the surrounding landscape, picturing a living painting.