BUREAU Reorganizes 44 sqm Lisbon Apartment Around a Circulation Loop
BUREAU wraps a 44 sqm Lisbon apartment around a central core, turning circulation into usable space with translucent openings and a shared kitchen-bathroom countertop.
- Section
- Renovation & Retrofit
- Author
- By Marcus Bennett
- Filed
- Length
- 2 min read
Key takeaways
- BUREAU designed Lilac, a 44 sqm apartment in Lisbon, as one of two 'family' apartments for siblings named Lilac and Blue.
- The redesign converts the former entrance hall into a kitchen and the central bedroom into wet areas, connected by a continuous circulation loop with four symmetrical openings.
- A single countertop serves both kitchen and bathroom, and new openings use translucent or mirrored materials to add light and depth.
A 44 sqm apartment in Lisbon now organizes domestic life around a continuous circulation loop that wraps a central core, in a redesign by architectural studio BUREAU. The project, named Lilac, converts circulation into usable space rather than treating it as dead area.
Lilac is one of two 'family' apartments BUREAU designed in Lisbon as the first homes of two 'brothers, sisters' — Lilac and Blue. At 44 sqm, the apartment tests how a compact floor area can accommodate everyday routines, objects, and different ways of living. The layout places limited emphasis on privacy, allowing multiple activities to coexist while giving each space its own function and flexibility.
The redesign makes two structural moves. The former entrance hall becomes a functional kitchen, and the existing interior bedroom at the center of the apartment converts into wet areas. A continuous passage then wraps around this core, connecting the rooms through four symmetrical openings. The move reopens routes and light paths that previous alterations had closed off.
BUREAU retained the existing structural compartmentalization. The new circulation, not demolition, produces the more fluid connection between spaces.
At the center, a single countertop serves both sides of the core. It connects the kitchen and bathroom, bringing two typically separate domestic functions into close proximity. The apartment's new openings use translucent or mirrored materials, adding light, reflection, and visual depth to the compact interior.
Color operates as a spatial tool. The project considers the apartment as a setting for different domestic scenarios, drawing a parallel with the fluidity of space in Jean-Luc Godard's 1963 film Le Mépris. White and color distinguish spaces and characters, while partitions and openings shape movement and the relationships between them.
Within its 44 sqm footprint, Lilac accommodates the basic elements of domestic life through a layout shaped around movement, light, objects, and everyday rituals. Its compact scale becomes a framework for considering what is essential to a home — a question BUREAU will extend to Blue, the second apartment in the sibling pair.
Daniel Zamarbide led the design team with Carine Pimenta and Galliane Zamarbide. Francisco Nogueira photographed the project.
Original: bureau.ac
