Discreet house in Lavra by Nuno Merino Rocha

This house is located in Lavra, Portugal and it was a project by Nuno Merino Rocha. The clients only had two main requests. They wanted to house to seamlessly integrate into the landscape and they also wanted this to be a low cost project. The architect decided to the family what they asked for and more.

Lavra house10

The house was designed as a very simple and discreet volume. It only has one volume and, when closed, it’s a compact structure that naturally integrates into the surroundings. Even though the exterior is a monolithic structure, the interior of the house features different heights, elevations and it becomes a whole different structure. The interior and exterior are two very different things. However, they both have something in common: the simplicity of the design. Partially it’s the result of the owner’s option for economy but also a specificity of the modern design the architect had adopted.

Lavra house10
Lavra house10
Lavra house10
Lavra house10
Lavra house10
Lavra house10
Lavra house10
Lavra house10
Lavra house10
Lavra house10

The exterior of the house is obviously minimalistic. The interior is very similar to it in this aspect. There’s almost a total lack of ornaments and decorative elements. However, this doesn’t make the house uninviting and cold. On the contrary, this problem was cleverly solved by the architect’s option for natural materials such as wood. There’s a very nice balance between the simplicity and objectivity of the house’s geometrical shape and the warmth and character of the materials and the interior décor.{found on architezer}.