Aldeia do Meco is a village to the south of the metropolitan area of Lisbon, in Portugal. Its proximity to the beaches of Portugal’s Atlantic Coast led to rapid change, as the predominantly rural village transformed into a seaside holiday destination. In just a few decades, bars and restaurants sprung up on farmhouse terraces and in courtyards; holiday homes with garden and swimming pool mushroomed alongside residents’ existing homes, on what were once fields and vegetable gardens; in high season, signs advertise rooms for rent. The character of this small village may have changed, but it has kept its old morphological structure: where possible, rural living spaces have provided space for new businesses; zoning for holiday homes follows the lay of the fields; and the most dilapidated structures have been abandoned. In one of the most central and densely-populated parts of town, an old farmstead within the village precincts - a ruined old home, barn and patio overgrown with weeds - had been abandoned for a long time, and sat there like a hulking, silent presence for the people of Aldeia do Meco. Now, thanks to the enterprise of a local investor, a young Portuguese architect has come up with a design that breathes new life into this corner of the village, with the attention to detail, care and sensitivity of someone who knows and loves this land and its heritage. The young designer of the Pátio do Meco residence is Fábio Ferreira Neves, whose grandparents were from Aldeia do Meco. After graduating, on the cusp of leaving for a job in Switzerland, an acquaintance asked him to come up with a design for an old abandoned building. The resulting architectural project is a modern interpretation, a renewal and re-engineering of rural heritage. The architect’s initial idea was clear and simple: to come up with a small accommodation facility that built on the memory of the old abandoned farmhouse and its patio. His concept evolved into a...
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