Shelf House, Matosinhos, Portugal by Atelier Mutant.

Daniel Capela Duarte is the man behind Atelier Mutant, a practice working out of Portugal. The Shelf House is considered by the architect as a mutation from an existing house dating back to the1960. The owners wanted a comprehensive refurbishment that would give new functional purpose to the property as well as a contemporary image. The image of the shelf became the conceptual starting position for the design, which was manifested as a white border, or frame, around the buildings façade. This created a setting into which the spatial volumes would be set as books on a shelf. Black areas created from coloured wood/ cement particle board, represent the more intimate areas such as bedrooms, whilst wood clad areas contain the social or living rooms of the house.