A small concrete structure once used as a house for doves has been transformed by Portuguese studio AZO Sequeira Arquitectos Associados into a garden playroom.
The former dovecote had sat derelict in the back garden of the clients' Braga home, so they asked the AZO Sequeira team to make it into a space that they could use.
The architects' response was to create a playroom in the elevated space that the doves previously used, while the hollow area underneath now contains a bathroom serving the family's swimming pool.
"We decided to propose a playhouse for the children and a balneary to serve the pool. The whole family loved the idea," said the designers.
"We wanted a play room inspired by magic, fantasy and also by childhood dreams and memories," they continued. "We transformed the old dovecote into a minimal concrete 'tree house' that represents these memories and fantasies."
房子本身是裸露的混凝土，有着山墙屋顶，木材纹理墙和碉堡一样的结构。
它从坚固的石壁上升起，创造了漂浮的感觉。但它实际上是由中央的混凝土墙支撑，这些从外部是不可见的。
The house itself is a bare concrete, bunker-like structure with a gabled roof and timber-textured walls.
It is raised up over rugged stone walls, to create the impression that it floats. But it is actually supported by a central concrete wall that is barely visible from the exterior.
"We looked for a way to make it seem like the main volume is levitating, like a tree house, but simultaneously it had to be balanced and pure," said the architects.
一些原有的细节依然保留着，像鸽子过去可以进入的方形洞口。
但是也加入了一些新的元素，包括银色木门和百叶窗，以及一个四四方方的金属入口。
Some original details remain, like the triangular holes that the doves would have used to enter.
But new elements have also been added, including a silver-toned wooden door and window shutters, and a boxy metal entrance portal.
内部的细节尽可能保持最小，但铺设了镶木地板和照明灯。
“我们希望室内没有多余的元素，并且逐渐由孩子们的作品和玩具所装饰”，设计团队补充道。
Details inside are kept as minimal as possible, but parquet flooring and lighting have been installed.
"The idea was that the interior was absent of superfluous elements and would be gradually decorated by the works and toys of the children," added the team.
The Dovecote shares its name with a similar project in the UK – back in 2010, London studio Haworth Tompkins inserted a Corten steel artist's studio into a ruined Victorian dovecote.
Photography is by Nelson Garrido.
