This small-budget renovation grew from the idea that lightness and simplicity can be more expressive than complexity. The project draws on two unlikely references: Alexander Graham Bell’s tetrahedral kites and Ulla von Brandenburg’s installations. From the kites comes a sense of modularity and structural economy—a way of building through repeated, essential elements. From Brandenburg comes a spatial softness, the use of humble materials like plywood and fabric to shape atmosphere rather than formality.

These ideas helped frame the renovation of an old, modest house without erasing its character. Existing stone walls were kept and repaired, becoming the project’s anchor. The new construction is deliberately straightforward: smooth plaster, pale flooring, and plywood carpentry that repeats throughout the interior. Curtains replace solid partitions in places, creating flexible boundaries and lending the house the gentle, staged quality of a set.

The renovation avoids embellishment and instead focuses on clarity, warmth, and the careful sequencing of light. The project reimagines the building through a kind of structural and material frugality—making the most out of what already exists.

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STATUS: Built (2023)

LOCATION: Caminha (PT)

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER : Eleven Steps

PHOTO CREDITS: Luis ferreira alves / marta ferreira