Old Winery Turned Into A House

Lisbon-based Practice Extrastudio has converted a winery in southern Portugal into a single-family home by covering its walls with red pigmented mortar, introducing light sources and adding a black-bottomed pool.

To maintain coherence between new and old parts of the walls, the architects covered the building with a red pigmented lime mortar. The application creates a rough texture with lighter and darker pigment spots. A natural red pigment was added to the mortar to enhance the presence of the building. This allows the house to gradually age and change its tone without ever requiring a coat of paint. The mortar also contains pozzolans – materials like brick powder and heat-treated clay – which strengthen it and protect it from weather damage.

On the ground floor, the architects cut out a 14 meter long window to the garden. It is equipped with black glass doors that can be fully opened to connect the combined living space with the gravel garden and the orchard. A raised swimming pool in the back of the garden is in a gap between the orange trees and a wall covered with plants.

Inside, mirrors line the walls of the lounge to reflect the flight, and pale concrete floors and white-painted walls are used throughout. The nine meter high entrance hall has a window into the courtyard on the ground floor, while another window, which is set higher in the wall, lets light into the corridor on the first floor. The bedroom and bathroom are on the first floor, which is connected to a small attic room in the roof top. The walls, floors, and ceilings are painted white, and the space is brightly lit by a series of skylights and a pivoting porthole.