Elcano was the first house PilottoSanguinetti remodeled as part of the new concept for Rapanui locations: adapting historic houses that are neighborhood landmarks and opening them up to the public.

The house is listed under the Register of Historic Places. The project execution was delicate and of a surgical nature as it required accommodating the functional layout to the building’s structure which included compact floors.

The house has a unique feature, a patio-like space between the street frontage and the building façade, which was equipped with a communal table that wraps around an existing statue.

The Andalusian patio located in the backyard was restored while the terrace on the first floor was rehabilitated. This helped free up space for better customer traffic flow across the narrow floors. The execution of many of the jobs involved the usage of either salvaged materials from the deconstruction or handmade materials in line with the original material belonging to the house.

The façade treatment involved the removal of several coats of paint in order to reveal the original material – Paris stone.