Dezeen Magazine

Aboim Inglez Arquitectos adds bright white extension to farmhouse in rural Portugal

Portuguese studio Aboim Inglez Arquitectos has converted and extended a century-old farmhouse near Lisbon to create a series of holiday homes overlooking the Alentejo plains (+ slideshow).

Monte da Azarujinha by Aboim Inglez Arquitectos

Originally intended as a single holiday retreat for a retired couple from Lisbon, the project evolved to include a new gabled block containing five en-suite bedrooms for holidaymakers.

Monte da Azarujinha by Aboim Inglez Arquitectos

This addition allows the couple's family to occupy the restored farmhouse, while simultaneously running their business.

Monte da Azarujinha by Aboim Inglez Arquitectos

The buildings, collectively known as Monte da Azarujinha, sit on a 140-hectare property populated by cork trees on the outskirts of Azaruja, a village in Portugal's Évora district.

Monte da Azarujinha by Aboim Inglez Arquitectos

"When the option of expanding the new house and designing a new building was taken, the question of insertion into the vast landscape arouse,"architects Maria Ana and Ricardo Aboim Inglez told Dezeen.

Monte da Azarujinha by Aboim Inglez Arquitectos

"We felt the new building shouldn't stand out and would have to be carefully inserted on site, so as to have a peaceful relation with the old building," they added, "enhancing both at the same time, and creating a unity in harmony with the vast surroundings."

Monte da Azarujinha by Aboim Inglez Arquitectos

Dealing with a non-specialised workforce, the architects decided to employ traditional construction methods and materials that give the two buildings a similar appearance.

Monte da Azarujinha by Aboim Inglez Arquitectos

The new white-rendered block has a reinforced concrete structure and a roof covered in white-painted tiles that contrast the traditional terracotta-coloured versions used on the original farmhouse.

Monte da Azarujinha by Aboim Inglez Arquitectos

Painted wooden doors and shutters complete the structure's all-white appearance, which is intended to provide inhabitants with some relief from the summer heat.

Portuguese architect and set designer João Mendes Ribeiro adopted a similarly white aesthetic for his gabled extension to a winery and spa resort in the country's Portalegre district.

Monte da Azarujinha by Aboim Inglez Arquitectos

"Having a white building is the most natural way of reflecting light, taking the heat away from the building," said the architects, who also used hand-painted rather than glazed tiles so as not to create a shiny appearance.

"We also wanted it to reflect the sky, but we didn't want it to glow," they explained.

Monte da Azarujinha by Aboim Inglez Arquitectos

Dilapidated extensions were stripped away from the existing farmhouse to create a simple gabled form that echoes the new building.

Monte da Azarujinha by Aboim Inglez Arquitectos

The two buildings are set at right angles to each other and connected by an L-shaped walkway, made from concrete with an exposed aggregate surface.

Monte da Azarujinha by Aboim Inglez Arquitectos

Inside both blocks, white plasterwork is paired with polished concrete floors and painted ceiling rafters.

Monte da Azarujinha by Aboim Inglez Arquitectos

Sliding windows in aluminium frames recede into the walls to create a seamless connection with the patio, and a broad open fireplace can be used to heat the interior of the main house in winter.

Photography is by Ricardo Gonçalves.


Project credits:

Architecture: Maria Ana Aboim Inglez and Ricardo Aboim Inglez
Team: Tiago Pereira
Structural engineer: Armando Nunes Martins
Services engineer: Acribia
Quantity surveyor: Perfectus
Contractor: Casa Pro Era, Espaço Abstrato

Monte da Azarujinha by Aboim Inglez Arquitectos
Floor plan – click for larger image
Monte da Azarujinha by Aboim Inglez Arquitectos
Sections – click for larger image
Monte da Azarujinha by Aboim Inglez Arquitectos
Detailed section one – click for larger image
Monte da Azarujinha by Aboim Inglez Arquitectos
Detailed section two – click for larger image