This house is a hotel!

In the Atlantic island of São Miguel, in the Azores, Mezzo Atelier has converted an old stable from the beginning of the 20th century into two guesthouses where history and contemporaneity coexist in balance. The design’s main goal was to keep the construction’s character, lines, and its rural atmosphere, while adapting the enclosed structure to a completely new typology and contemporary regulations. New openings where carefully shredded in the coloured facades, as well as on the stone wall, and a new volume was added to the main construction, allowing for a second, smaller house to appear integrated in the whole.

The bigger house develops in two levels: the ground floor opens to the surrounding exterior spaces and reaches out to it's different heights, creating a semi-level floor where a social space gives access to the private suites and service area. The upper floor contains the social spaces and it was designed as a free plan so it could be taken advantage of the roof's structure and it's full height.

New elements, as the exterior stairs, connecting the outdoor terrace, or the use of whitened wood in the interiors, are re-interpretations of the Azorean vernacular architecture, which was important to dignify. The aged pink and ochre tones are the main identity of the area where the building sits. The ochre was traditionally used to frame windows and doors, at Pink House it was used instead on the bedrooms’ interior shades and kitchen, adding a new kind of relation between inside and outside views.