The apartment as terrain: Fala Atelier in Vila Nova de Gaia

Located in Vila Nova de Gaia, Stepped Apartment by Fala transforms a formerly fragmented residence into a sharply defined domestic landscape shaped by one continuous architectural gesture. Completed between 2024 and 2025, the 150 square meter project strips the apartment back to its perimeter before reorganizing the interior through a stepped wall that becomes both partition and spatial device.

The previous arrangement of enclosed rooms disappears almost entirely. In its place, the apartment adopts a nearly diagrammatic clarity: a long transversal living space unfolds on one side, while a compact sequence of secondary rooms is compressed into the opposite edge of the plan. The result is an interior that feels simultaneously minimal and theatrical, where circulation, furniture, and architecture merge into a singular spatial composition.

The main living area extends directly toward the terrace, where the project reaches its most unexpected moment. A slender metallic pole supports a lightweight canopy that casts patterned shadows across the outdoor surface, introducing a softer atmospheric layer into the otherwise restrained composition.

The intervention recalls the delicate structural language often associated with the work of Itsuko Hasegawa, balancing technical necessity with a sense of surreal lightness. Rather than functioning as a conventional exterior extension, the terrace becomes a small domestic stage suspended between interior and city.

At its center stands a cloud shaped metallic tree, an almost fictional presence that anchors the project visually and transforms the terrace into the apartment’s emotional focal point.

Inside, the material palette remains intentionally restrained. White surfaces form a neutral architectural background interrupted only by carefully placed moments of contrast: fragments of black marble, reflective mirrored planes, and bright blue carpentry details introduce rhythm and tension without overwhelming the clarity of the space.

Above, a pale blue ceiling softens the apartment’s otherwise graphic composition, creating a subtle atmospheric continuity between interior and terrace. Throughout the project, Fala avoids decorative excess in favor of precise spatial decisions that give even the smallest interventions disproportionate visual weight.

More than a conventional renovation, Stepped Apartment becomes an exploration of reduction and spatial precision, where architecture is distilled into a sequence of controlled gestures oriented toward light, atmosphere, and a singular sculptural presence overlooking the terrace.

Project Credit

Project name: fala 194
Location: Vila nova de gaia, Portugal
Area: 150m2
Design Firm: fala aterlier / @fala.atelier
Photo: Francisco Ascensão / @francisco.ascensao, Lera Samovich

More Photos