It?s easy to lose track of the history behind old buildings when they aren?t considered culturally significant. Over the decades, inhabitants come and go, and the most recent ones may never learn that their home was once a butcher shop, boarding house, school, or another unexpected establishment. Sometimes, however, the threads of these memories are passed down from generation to generation, allowing the newest owners to pay tribute to the structure?s origins. Such is the case with this beautiful brick red home in Portugal, which was formerly a winery.

In the early 20th century, when “Red House” was first built, the tiny village of Vendas de Azeitão must have looked very different than it does today. The region is known for its cheese, traditional ceramic tiles, wineries, and rolling green hills. Over a hundred years later, it has retained a lot of its charm and architectural vernacular, but of course, new constructions have sprung up all over, crowding in buildings like this one.
Its neighbors may now be homes, parking lots, and alleyways instead of lush fields full of grapevines, but Red House perseveres. Tasked with its renovation by the builders? grandchildren, architecture firm Extrastudio aimed to make the winery ?an oasis in the middle of the village,? preserving its small orchard of orange trees and cutting a wide window into the bottom floor. This new aperture connects the heart of the home to the garden without significantly disturbing the exterior....