The briefing was to build a three-bedroom house on top of a warehouse built in the 80′s, where part of the roof was made with a flat slab and a small balcony, precisely with that idea of later building the house.

Given the constraints of the existing warehouse, the house shape turns out to be automatically set: a box that rests on the existing structure. The rooms are placed to the east, the toilets to the west, as well as the kitchen, looking to a centennial olive tree. The existing balcony will be maintained and “duplicated” as a shading element. The living room is placed south where its south/east corner is diagonally cut in a way that the balcony could enlarge and offer an outdoor area protected from the sun and rain, overlooking the valley.

 

+ Project facts

HOUSE ON A WAREHOUSE

2007-2012, CHÍCHARO, TORRES NOVAS,

PORTUGAL

Architecture:

Miguel Marcelino

Structural Engineering:

560Eng (João Esteves)

Plumbing Engineering:

560Eng (José Rodrigues)

Phases:

2007-2010 (project)

2011-2012 (construction)

General Contractor:

João Felício

Gross Floor Area:

138m2

Gross Volume:

437m3

Building Footprint:

114m2

Site Area:

4.108m2

Energy Efficiency Class:

A

Client:

Cândido Vieira

Photographs:

João Morgado

+ All images and drawings courtesy João Morgado