Pergola House

This project aims to transform and expand a house built in the 1960s, in Cacia-Aveiro, on a plot of land measuring 534.3 sqm.

The building reaches 210 sqm of gross construction area after the extension of the house, which was extended to its rear limit, so that it could be connected to the pre-existing annex/porch.

On the front façade of the building there is a metal structure, in corten colour, with vertically aligned steel cables, which allow the growth of vegetation to form a green “curtain”. This “curtain” covers the pre-existing façade, giving it a contemporary look, while also safeguarding the necessary protection of the views, given its proximity to the public road, and also providing solar protection, given its previously unprotected southern orientation.
This structure will be approximately 70 cm away from the front façade, allowing it to be read as a second skin without compromising the maintenance and interrelation of both vertical planes.
The rest of the house is painted in white, the lightness of which is intended to enhance the surrounding nature.
The new main access was proposed parallel to the west façade of the building, via an exterior route providing pedestrian and vehicle access.

This path, in terracotta paving, continues the corten structure of the front façade, and is covered by a metal pergola whose uninterrupted and fluid design allows for a walk from the entrance to the land, passing through the extended body to the north, where the main entrance to the building is located and where the social areas are distributed; and ending in the outdoor lounge of the barbecue and wood-burning area, allowing the house to have a continuous and versatile outdoor space, which surrounds and interacts with the garden in a melodic way.

This is a house that relates to its surroundings in an engaging way, integrating it into the dynamics of mobility and the relationship between interior and exterior uses.
The covering of this walkway is not always waterproof, and in some places it is only made up of climbing plants, constantly referring to an analogy with the surrounding green space.
The private areas of the house are distributed in the pre-existing body, with 3 bedrooms, a shared bathroom and a suite with a private bathroom. In this volume, an attempt was made to rehabilitate rather than transform, so that the moment where the transition between the past history and the new history of this house was created is noticeable.