The purpose is to reconcile in the building functional needs as well as the wish of physical and aesthetic comfort of the users. Therefore, it has been given a pure geometrical shape to the building, acomplished by horizontal opaque plans on the Norte side and transparent plans on East and West. As a consequence, these two façades show horizontal opaque plans that make possible, during the different seasons of the year, protection against rain or sunlight, allowing at the same time a visual relation with the outside and a control of the natural light reception. This, associated to the spacial dimention given by the quadruple high achieved on the inner circulation areas, opened to the leisure spaces, transmits to the building a phsychological dimention of greatness and balance, despite the diminished size of the lot and the constructed body.Two gates located West distinguish two types of entrance: one, to the highest quota of the street, allows pedestrial access to the ground level of the house through a passage way, the other, to the lower quota, allows access through a ramp to the garage, which is totally buried. A big sliding door allows access to the garage. On the same level of the garage, we can find a dining room, a kitchen and a service bathroom, making possible a priveliged relation of leisure between inner areas and exterior gardened spaces. Thus, direct contact between the basement and the soil is eliminated, aiming to obtain a visual fitting within inner spaces and to reduce the feeling of a buryed building, transforming the vertical support wall in a slop support wall. This transformation will create a gardened ramp which integrates itself in the ramp that allows access to the garage and transmits a relation of light and oppening to all surroundings in different levels, enlarging the gardened area.
AUTHORS
FÁTIMA FERNANDES AND MICHELE CANNATÀ
COLLABORATORS
FILIPE AFONSO
INGRIDE BARROSO
CRISTINA NEVES
ISABELLA FERA
MARTA LEMOS
FUNDATIONS AND STRUCTURES
TORÇÃO - GIL SILVA GUSMÃO
ELECTRICITY, TELEPHONES AND SECURITY
OHM - FERNANDO SILVA GUSMÃO
CLIENT
MANUEL ROMANO BARBOSA
LOCATION
MATOSINHOS. PORTUGAL
DATE OF PROJECT
2000
DATE OF CONSTRUCTION
2000-2003
