Portuguese practice Fala Atelier has completed a garden apartment for a home in Porto topped by a "concrete crown" inlaid with marble geometry.
Called Very Tiny Palazzo, the 40-square-metre annexe provides a studio or guest room nestled in a lush garden, which it overlooks through fully-glazed elevations.
Small, simply finished and largely transparent, the structure is topped by a concrete roof that spans the width of the garden, inlaid with a pink circle of Estremoz marble and small black squares of Marquita marble.
Fala Atelier has created a garden apartment in Porto
"This is the smallest house we ever built," Fala Atelier told Dezeen. "Calling it a palazzo refers to the main building nearby ? a palace-like house ? and provides a certain ambition to the otherwise very discrete piece." "The luxuriant environment suggested an ambivalent approach to the architectural object," added the practice.
"At human height, the palace is transparent, but its crown is proud, adorned with precious stones and spanning across the perimeter walls."
The building is topped by a "concrete crown"
Inside, a set change in the level of the concrete floor creates two distinct areas that can be used as living, bedroom or studio areas, with a bathroom and storage area tucked behind a full-height white cabinet.
Metal-framed sliding glass doors at either end allow this interior to be completely opened to the landscape, enabling the structure ...