wow…nice.

nice photo!

Very nice. Best box in a long time. The interiors open up to the outside spaces very beautifully and the ground level stone wall acts as a good reference to the old structure.

Agree with Partick,disagree with Benjamin.
Even if its old and “warm”,still-would you like to live in the house which have 10 squere metres?Havent tried?If so-dont speak so nostalgically abouth the past.The junctaposition bentween the past,”natural”elements, and the new one was worth to do :D

“old house is much more better than the new one”
^ seriously?

yes mike,
we need to preserve ancient structures that are inefficient, and would probably cost more to rennovate than just tearing down and starting over. duh….

p.s. i believe the foundation was preserved or at least the footprint, and i assume keeping traces of the original structure was kept in mind when designing the new house.

Even if its old and “warm”,still-would you like to live in the house which have 10 squere metres?Havent tried?If so-dont speak so nostalgically abouth the past.

…so ur telling me the architect wasn’t good enough to increase the living area of the house and interiors but also keep the existing history of the old structure too… possibly they needed a more experienced architect on the job

Haha… Tyler, awesome comment. Sooooo true.
Benjamin – have YOU tried living in that small of a space? Many people have different lifestyles. Some people spend most of their time away from home, (off the computer), and are only in their homes to sleep, groom, and eat.
I actually admire the preserve it takes for one to live in such minimalist conditions. It has the potential to be a great thing.
The reason this got past the drawings and actually built was because the client approved them. He obviously knew what he was getting.

I think,Benjamin,if there was any possibility to preserve the existing structure,the client (I think),maybe wished the same thing as you.But-sad but true-in my own practice-such structures cant hold anything-they are like the paper bags-holds their weight till you dont touch them.:(

Only negative thing I can imagine is that the caretakers income probably is 1/100th of the expenses put into the building.

Withut disturbing Gropius, I cannot do without saying that this is pure and crazy bullshit… no one will ever be able to convince me that a ugly CUBE OF CONCRETE crapped in a beautiful and wild environment is “simple and elegant”.. but are you crazy or what? A CUBE OF CONCRETE is a “particularly a nice project”??? …and may be the people around you think that you are a sentient being… of course, whenever you’re not full of dope…

Maravilhoso! Um casulo (cápsula) de morar!
Um dos projetos mais fantásticos que vi nos últimos tempos…

I like this a lot. The original house, while completely charming, would be down instantly in a tremor. I lived in stone house that size in Greece for a winter and it’s easy to be nostalgic about it until you try it… I really like this project – it has a warm-climate, coastal feel. May not exactly be vernacular, but it feels open and fresh and functional. It looks to me as if many of the original stones were used, and it’s pretty close to the original footprint. The one thing that gives me pause is that the future inhabitant felt it looked like a cooler – though like the villagers where I lived, I bet he ultimately appreciated the improvements. The stairway inside is beautiful – that mix of simple planks and concrete, flanked by the stone walls, is fantastic.

how surpised at first image shown above. the house just like ignore everything arround. the white wall block the view images, kinda bad feeling about it. i rather like if the building comes up as an element that keep the balance between buliding and environment. too much contrast about the element, color, material. in my opinion the white box of concrete just barely move from the urban house, no reason and no history.
view from side really disturb me, thats all…
anyway good design…

Loving the 'Box House' http://ow.ly/1RCiK #architecture

The caretaker said it all…

“During the work, the caretaker Zé Maria, still not content with his future living quarters, compared it with a can of sardines, a container as those he sees passing through the channel or even a cooler, like those used by beachgoers to carry beer.”

This is an amazing design. The best reinterpretation the old place could have wished for, and i love the TV shot with the reflection of the large window, it shows to me the fun the architect / photographer had working on this place . Indeed the best box in a long time.

As a piece of architectural sculpture this is quite dramatic and I like the contrasting textures and volumes. The new building takes full advantage of the views and the breezes in ways that the cottage does not. However, without seeing the interior of the previous cottage I can make no determination of any improvement in utility for the resident. I doubt there is enough storage space and there certainly isn’t any place to eat a sit down meal or socialize with friends inside. I would want to see this as lived in before rendering a judgment, but it seems that in the design the Architectural taste of the owner has trumped the residentail needs of his employee.