Located in a small village in the interior of Portugal, at 900m altitude, the Gafanha’s House emerges from the need of rehabilitating an existing building occupied by a family member. Upon requests from the clients and friends, the intervention aims at preserving the whole existing architectural features, as a family legacy of its past. As a result of that, the granite, typical stone of the region, was maintained, and supplemented in its new elements by concrete. The patios have been added as new living spaces.

The main drivers of this project were the land configuration, together with the pre-existing volume of this regional traditional house, consisting of an animals’ shelter on the ground floor, and a small living area on the upper floor. The lower floor, partially located underground, was transformed into an ample living space with clear differentiated functional areas.