AA8 Small House

AA8 Small House
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AA8 SMALL HOUSE

Branco-DelRio Arquitectos

ENGINEERING
Em Branco Engenharia

PHOTOGRAPHS
Do mal o menos

MANUFACTURERS 
Muuto, Santa & Cole, XO-Design

DESIGN TEAM
João Branco, Paula del Río

EM BRANCO ENGENHARIA
João Branco, Paula del Río

FURNITURE 
João Branco, Paula del Río

AREA
112 m²

YEAR
2017

CATEGORY
Houses

LOCATION
Coímbra, Portugal

Text description provided by architect.

The small houses that make up the Norton de Matos Neighbourhood (1947-1949), have a flexible and incremental nature.

The original houses already invited to expand in the future, due to the small size of the interior and the generosity of outside space, as well as by its constructive nature: supporting stone walls and wooden slabs and roof: easy to modify, flexible systems.

AA8 Small House
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AA8 Small House
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Over the years, the houses have been colonizing the backyards through successive extensions. 

However, in this process, the construction systems applied did not take advantage of this flexibility, replacing wooden frames with concrete joists, and ventilated roofs with concrete slabs.

Despite the existing extension, in reinforced concrete, on the ground floor, the expansion and rehabilitation of the AA8 house is opposed to that trend, seeking the use of building systems that respect the initial functioning of the house and are compatible with it, maintaining their original characteristics:

AA8 Small House
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AA8 Small House
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high thermal inertia in stone facades, permanent cross ventilation of all spaces and ventilated roof.

The project focuses on 3 points: the connection of the various small and shady chambers to maximize space and inside-outside relationship on the ground floor; the addition of a bedroom and the construction of a full bathroom on the upper floor; the introduction of light and natural ventilation in the interior parts of the house.

AA8 Small House
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AA8 Small House
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The most used material, wood, reveals a strong adaptability and transformation capacity, a suitable material for the adaptation of these housing typologies, which throughout Portugal have been arousing great interest, for its urban centrality, the good quality of public space, and the generous ratio of inside and outside space.


AA8 Small House
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AA8 Small House
© do mal o menos
AA8 Small House
© do mal o menos
AA8 Small House
© do mal o menos
AA8 Small House
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AA8 Small House
First Floor Plan
AA8 Small House
Site Plan


AA8 Small House
Longitudinal Section
AA8 Small House
Longitudinal Section


AA8 Small House
Axonometric