Near enough yet far enough.
The new addition is a porch with a half-roof and built-in benches designed for conversations, lounging, viewing the garden and milling around a fire pit that doubles as a coffee table. The architecture of the existing house is extended into this new area but with additional varied finishes & shapes that add interesting detail even as the roofless area adds a desirable and convenient open air venue.
By segregating the new addition, the existing porch is left untouched. Additionally, the gap becomes a pocket garden that is useful for dissimulating the new needed posts from obvious view from the house, allowing a mostly-green and dramatic view from the latter. Furthermore, the pocket garden acts as a softscape buffer between the two adjacent porches that fosters privacy & coziness to both areas while creating social distance from each other even while practically abutting each other.