The urban fabric of Bairro Alto reflects a fragmented land ownership and the historical influence of convents and enclosed grounds. The neighborhood is organized around broader main roads and narrower secondary streets, one of which is home to the Cruz dos Poiais building.

Although the building was constructed after the Bairro Alto plan set in 16th century, it lacks a strict geometric layout. Its beauty lies in its simplicity where the original ornamentation is preserved, like the limestone in the existing façade, with a well-defined masonry cornice, both contributing to its regular and classical appearance.

A restoration carried out in the 1950s introduced a decorative plastered parapet, disrupting the continuity of the building’s original material expression. As part of the same intervention, a housing unit was added on the top floor, a volume that fails to integrate with the original architectural language of the building.

The new proposal for the building extension aspires to seamlessly integrate the new volume into the existing urban architectural fabric.

The plan includes the reorganization of the second floor and a new third floor, beneath a new shed roof. The new level will be enhanced by a series of dormer windows, aligned with the existing ones which will create small terraces. Each floor will accommodate one apartment, accessible via a staircase separate from the commercial space on the ground floor.

The primary challenge of this project lies in the difficult access to the site and the impossibility of intervening on the ground floor, which falls outside the scope of work. This constrain requires a structural solution that fits the context and remains economically feasible.

The concept revolves around a single structural system composed of metal trusses, designed to support the new floors and the new roof. These trusses are conceived to be modular, easily divided into smaller sections ready to be assembled on site without complex machinery.

The system transfers all static loads exclusively to the existing perimeter walls allowing greater freedom in the interior layout.

Due to construction constraints, concrete structure will be limited to essential elements, such as, a reinforced perimeter beam and the composite slab, which offers high thermal inertia.

The remaining structure will adopt dry construction methods and lightweight materials, applied in the upper façades, roof, and interior partition walls.