mezzo atelier completes concrete + local basalt stone dwelling in são miguel island

livramento house emerges as a stone + concrete volume in the azores

Livramento House is a private basalt stone and concrete dwelling designed by Mezzo Atelier on the Portuguese Island of São Miguel. Housing an English couple and their six dogs, the home reflects its residents’ practical and slow lifestyle through its serene siting atop a deep slope surrounded by greenery, and the minimalist and luminous interior spaces. For its overall form, the architects draw on the typology and language of a nearby ruin, integrated with the unevenness of the sloping site to create a stratified two-story structure with ground levels anchored to the bearing wall in lava stone.

the heavy stone ground floor contrasts with the light grey upper lever | all images by Ana Sampaio Barros

mezzo atelier employs vernacular construction details

The structure sits on a deep slope following the north-south direction, surrounded by the rich natural landscape of the Portuguese Azores Archipelago. Approaching the original site, the architects at Mezzo Atelier were met with uneven grounds created by the site’s natural conditions and previous developments.

Mitigating these differences, the team implemented the vernacular construction details and basalt stone structure of the architectural ruins nearby. As such, Livramento House emerges as a two-floor volume unifying several platforms and both ground levels anchored to a lava stone bearing wall. The lava stone floor facade on the ground floor is a continuation of the existing bearing wall and contrasts with the light grey upper level. 

The minimalist and natural interiors reflect the owners’ practical and easy going lifestyle. The social area is a luminous open space with a generous kitchen, extending outdoors and merging into a covered terrace. This protected external lounge, shelters the couple and their dogs during rainy and windy days, and allows them to enjoy the outdoor landscape in more favorable weather. The social area and property entrance are located on the upper floor while bedrooms, the home office and private service areas sit below in direct continuation of the lower south side garden and deck, with picturesque views. Protecting these spaces from the south and west sunlight, Mezzo Atelier incorporate external wooden shades over the large windows, adding an additional natural texture and character to the facade. An outdoor staircase in cement, stone and steel, links both ground levels from the upper terrace to the deck below, along the east facade.

wooden sliding panels were added to the spaces to gain privacy and sunlight protection

the west facade shows the service entrance and the dog’s door