This tiny house on wheels with a double-axle trailer is the result of the compositional and craftsmanship skills of Gonçalo Madeira Marrote, an architect and carpenter whose surname (Madeira means ‘wood’ in Portuguese) already carries the synthesis of his work. Conceived as a stable (but still mobile) residence on the outskirts of Lisbon for a family of three, despite its small size – 7.5 m x 2 m in plan – the construction houses all the rooms necessary for a comfortable domestic life: on the ground floor, a kitchen with dining area, services and a living room with a foldaway bed; on the upper floor, two mezzanines with bedrooms, accessible by ladders.
Baleia: tiny house on wheels in Portugal
A microscopic building with all the characteristics of comfort leads one to reflect on the theme of mobility in architecture and on the real dimensional requirements of living.
Photo João Carranca
Photo João Carranca
Photo João Carranca
Photo João Carranca
Photo João Carranca
Photo João Carranca
Photo João Carranca
Photo João Carranca
Photo João Carranca
Photo João Carranca
Photo João Carranca
Photo João Carranca
Photo João Carranca
Photo João Carranca
Photo João Carranca
Photo João Carranca
View Article details
- Chiara Testoni
- 28 September 2022
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Madeiguincho Atelier
- 15 sqm
- residential
- 2021
The building is made entirely of wood and is energy independent, thanks to solar panels on the roof.
The large windows and glazed doors, together with the soft, light-coloured interior cladding, help create an effect of diffuse luminosity and spatial expansion.
A sign, perhaps, that sometimes it is not square metres or even a predetermined location that makes for quality living.
- Baleia T.O.W.
- Madeiguincho Atelier
- Lisbon, Portugal
first level plan
second level plan
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