Get the best of Domus straight to your inbox!

Miguel Marcelino: House on a warehouse

Abstract

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.

House on a warehouse
Chícharo, Torres Novas, Portugal
Architecture: Miguel Marcelino
Client: Cãndido Vieira
Structural Engineering: 560Eng (João Esteves)
Plumbing Engineering: 560Eng (José Rodrigues)
General Contractor: João Felìcio
Site Area: 4,108 mq
Gross Floor Area: 138 mq
Gross Volume: 437 m3
Building Footprint: 114mq
Energy Efficiency Class: A
Project phase: 2007-2010
Construction phase: 2011-2012
Photo: João Morgado