A triangular lightwell covered in scale-like shingles extends from the roof of this living area that architect Nuno Melo Sousa has additional to a house in Penafiel, Portugal .
Named Sala em Pala, the project involved constructing a single-storey extension in the house’s former courtyard.
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According to Nuno Melo Sousa, the house had been “a sum of attachments, with no a residing region”, so was in need to have of a area for occupants to relax in.
The new structure is framed on 3 sides by the main property but has been created to seem visually separate. The challenge was to allow enough daylight to enter with out impacting too considerably on the original architecture.
“In purchase not to disrupt the house’s daily existence, the major construction was built without destroying the existing windowed yellow wall,” said the architect.
Instead, the roof of the new living room is set reduce than the current eaves but a triangular concrete wedge extends up along one side, generating a high-degree window that allows daylight to funnel in from over.
The remaining two sides of this wedge are clad with rounded slate shingles, which are reminiscent of fish scales.
“A big skylight emerges in traditional slate shingles, evoking the very same material utilized for the existing vernacular kitchen on the plot’s opposite side, and providing light and ventilation to the new living room,” explained Melo Sousa.
The residing room’s only exposed facade is fronted by glazing, giving views out to a now a lot smaller terrace.
The room’s floor is set just beneath ground level, producing space for a wooden seating ledge that also functions as a lower-degree bookshelf and storage spot. The skirting board also lines up with the base of the glazing and is finished in the exact same colour.
The flooring is wooden, contrasting with the concrete ceiling overhead. At the back, a fireplace is integrated into the wall.
A ramp connects the residing space with the rest of the residence, flanked on one particular side by a wooden sideboard.
Photography is by José Campos.
Task credits:
Architecture: Nuno Melo Sousa
Engineer: Bruno Caetano
Construction: Vieira Esposa e Filhos
Strategy 
Part Dezeen
