An Old Winery Turned Into A House Covered With Red Mortar

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

To maintain coherence between new and the old parts of the walls, the architects covered the building in a red-pigmented lime mortar. The application creates a rough texture, with patches of lighter and darker pigmentation. A natural red pigment was added to the mortar, to reinforce the building’s presence, allowing the house to age gradually and changing its tonality, without ever requiring a coat of paint. The mortar also includes pozzolans – materials like powdered brick and heat-treated clay – which strengthen it and protect against weathering damage.

On the ground floor, the architects cut out a 14-metre-long window that faces the garden. It is fitted with black glass doors, which slide completely open to connect the combined living space with the graveled back garden and orchard. A raised swimming pool built at the rear of the garden is placed into a gap between the orange trees and a plant-covered wall.

Inside, mirrors line the walls of the lounge to reflect flight, and pale concrete flooring and white-painted walls are used throughout. The nine-metre-high entrance hall features a window into the yard at ground level, while another window set higher into the wall allows light to enter the first-floor corridor. Bedrooms and bathrooms are placed on the first floor, which connects with a small attic room in the apex of the roof. Its walls, floors and ceiling are painted white, and the space is brightly illuminated by a series of rooflights and a pivoting porthole window.