Collective housing is a political challenge. Architects have the duty to find solutions for this issue, envisioning ways for people to live together. A call for ideas to retrofit a massive housing unit gave the chance to put these principles into practice. Located in Brescia, Tintoretto Tower was designed by Leonardo Benevolo in the 1970s. It boasts a curious mélange of functionalist floor plans and postmodernist elevations. The project changed the orientation of the apartments, to ensure additional sunlight and views. It also increased the overall surface, offsetting a double of one of the façades with a monumental plan in concrete. The space in between creates a sliver of common areas, contributing to an eventful social experience. As the saying goes, “if we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.”

Date: 2013 | Location: Brescia, Italy | Client: Order of Engineers of the Province of Brescia | Architecture: Patrícia Barbas, Diogo Lopes | Collaborators: Ricardo Lima, Roma Olisauskaité, Sérgio Catumba
Images: Barbas Lopes Arquitectos | Area: 18.500 m2 | Budget: N/A