Filipe Pina + Maria Inês Costa add concrete extension to stone house in Portugal
A glass-fronted stairwell joins a craggy stone Portuguese house to its new concrete extension by Filipe Pina + Maria Inês Costa (+ slideshow).
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_468_22.jpg)
Filipe Pina + Maria Inês Costa designed the 260-square-metre family home, named House JA, for a site in the city of Guarda, northern Portugal.
A living room, kitchen and garage are positioned across the ground floor of the building, with three bedrooms and a library on the upper floor.
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_468_23.jpg)
The Portuguese studio joined a smooth concrete extension to existing stone ruins on the plot and inserted a glazed channel through the centre of the two structures that frames the oak staircase within.
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_468_1.jpg)
"The house is meant to combine the rural and the urban lifestyle," said the architects.
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_468_0.jpg)
The addition of the concrete volume filled the plot of land around the stone structure, leaving no space around the outside for the family.
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_468_13.jpg)
A narrow passageway laid with stepping-stones cuts between the two buildings and leads to a double-height section of glazing that reveals the open-tread staircase inside.
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_468_3.jpg)
The inclusion of a small decked courtyard where the old and new buildings meet provides an outdoor area and natural light for the interior space.
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_468_4.jpg)
The wooden staircase rises between a glazed wall that looks onto the courtyard and the previously external stone wall of the historic building.
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_468_8.jpg)
This wall, now encapsulated by the new concrete structure, is left exposed to retain the "memory of the old house."
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_468_5.jpg)
"The principle was to introduce light in the middle of the house. Two different empty spaces were generated: the entrance, and the heart of the house – the courtyard," said the architects.
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_468_6.jpg)
Lengths of metal wire stretch between the wooden steps and the ceiling to partially enclose the well, creating a safety rail but also allowing light from the adjoining courtyard and glazed entrance to penetrate to the interior space.
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_468_11.jpg)
The staircase is divided into two metal-framed sections, with the lower portion attached to the ground floor and a white plastered wall, and the second section to the wall and the first floor.
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_468_12.jpg)
On the ground floor, sections of oak panelling to the right of the staircase conceal two doorways cut through the stone walls that lead into a double garage. On the left, an open-plan living and dining area are arranged around the small glazed courtyard.
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_468_16.jpg)
On the upper level, the staircase connects to a wooden walkway that passes to the left through the stone wall of the old structure to a master suite above the garage. To the right of the staircase it leads to two further bedrooms, a bathroom and a library.
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_468_18.jpg)
Storage built into the white hallway walls maximises the space available on the upper floor.
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_468_19.jpg)
Deep black window frames protrude from the facade of the concrete volume and overhang the street below, creating a small Juliette balcony for an upper floor bedroom, while sections of black-framed glazing sit flush with the stone facade of the old building.
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_468_27.jpg)
"The scale and the site identity were always present in the construction details and material choices," they said.
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_468_26.jpg)
Photography is by Joao Morgado.
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_3.gif)
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_2.gif)
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_4.gif)
![House JA by Filipe Pina + Ines Costa](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/House-JA-by-Filipe-Pina-and-Ines-Costa_dezeen_1.gif)