Little Forest

Little Forest is a minimalist residence located in Sintra, Portugal, designed by Hum. The project reframes domestic architecture not as a static composition but as a participatory structure – one that absorbs seasonal shifts, accommodates creative practice, and maintains an active dialogue with its forested surroundings. Rather than imposing form onto landscape, the design operates as an extension of the existing ecosystem, allowing architecture to function less as boundary and more as membrane between interior life and exterior environment.

The intervention began with preservation rather than erasure. The original structure remained intact, not as nostalgic gesture but as material foundation upon which new spatial layers could accumulate. This approach positions renovation as a form of dialogue – between old construction techniques and contemporary spatial needs, between inherited volumes and evolving domestic rituals. The result is a hybrid condition where memory persists within transformation, where historical fabric informs rather than constrains new inhabitation.

Light operates as primary compositional tool. The forest canopy filters daylight into shifting patterns across interior surfaces, making illumination itself a variable architectural element. Windows frame specific views but also choreograph how natural cycles – diurnal rhythms, seasonal variations, weather conditions – penetrate domestic space. This creates an interior environment fundamentally responsive to exterior conditions, dissolving conventional boundaries between inside and outside.

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