Casa Do Pinheiro by Bernardo Amaral

Doors are special things; they can demarcate a barrier for privacy, represent a portal into a new space, or hide objects from plain sight. Bernardo Amaral takes advantage of all of these functions in his renovation of Casa Do Pinheiro to shape the environment in the studio apartments of an 18^th-century townhouse. The individual rooms occupy the same building, which is unified through a grand staircase at its very core. In making each room a livable space, white doors and walls were erected around the kitchen, bathroom, and interior staircases so that each door leads to – or hides – a different programmatic purpose. In the same fashion, sliding doors (or panels, really) have been installed in other apartments to retain privacy in the bedroom. The simplicity of the solution is admirable, and reestablishes a newfound respect for the humble door.

via – Photographs © Attilio Fiumarella