House in Paço de Arcos / Jorge Mealha

© Jorge Mealha

Architect: Jorge Mealha
Location: Carcavelos, ,
Project Team: Arch. João Sítima, Arch. Luís Banazol, Arch. Pedro Pereira, Arch. Marcelo Dantas
Client: Margarida e António Lemos
Project Area: 388.50 sqm
Project Year: 2006-2010
Photographs: Jorge Mealha

Located on an impressively sloping site in Paço de Arcos, a neighborhood of Lisbon facing the sea, this house proposes an arrangement of several solids trying to attenuate the overall mass due to a huge functional program requested by the client.

ground floor plan

A set of restrictive regulations, defined in the city council urbanistic project, from distances to borders, access and total amount of construction area and volume were also a condition to be addressed and surpassed.

© Jorge Mealha

The resultant form proposes a dialogue between a range of different solids and voids, using light to draw or reflect on the surfaces, proposing a changeable reading of space and volumes during the day.

The metal screening/shading devices, create large smooth textured surfaces on the facade of the house emphasizing forms and controlling the relationships between indoor and outdoor or between external and internal spaces.

© Jorge Mealha

The house is all white and the roofs are flat. Some circulations, as the staircase and main corridor, are in white painted metal slightly detached from the walls, leaving opportunity for light to pass in between.

* Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
Cite: "House in Paço de Arcos / Jorge Mealha" 14 Oct 2010. ArchDaily. Accessed 19 Jun 2013. <http://www.archdaily.com/81632>

15 comments

  1. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    I understand white si the color of the moment but this look like a hospital reather than a house …

    Reply
    • Thumb up Thumb down 0

      Danyel,close your eyes and imagine that it’s pink or purple as all the houses around Bucharest and will be much better.If you can not appreciate a good project for your aesthetic sense is limited by what you see around every day,does not mean that this house is not among the most successful of what was presented here lately.

      Reply
  3. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    aborrecida casinha portuguesa de always…ate poderia ser de 1960 o 70… Tristeza nao tem fin

    Reply
    • Thumb up Thumb down 0

      que labrego.
      tomara tu fazeres casinhas assim…

      (e atenção que não sou fã de toda aquela brancura, mas esta casa em termos formais/espaciais, de iluminação natural, de detalhes construtivos, etc. parece muito intererssante)

      Reply
  4. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    white + white = too much white
    is this a freaking lab? no?
    ’cause I’d rather live in the CSI’s lab set!

    Reply
  5. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    Very interesting project in terms of volume. Very dynamic without
    get lost in excess. The only thing I do not like to see is the pavement
    white. If this were grayscale, would be much better and less painful to watch.

    Reply
  7. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    by the third summer the “whiteness” will no longer be an issue to the owner: he will definitely be blind by then.

    Other than that its a wonderful house. interesting spaces and with plenty natural lighting, good detailing.
    would love to own it.

    Reply
  8. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    White is not an unusual color for the vernacular in many parts of southern Europe and the Mediterranean region. This project is inspired by that tradition and Richard Meier, of course. Nice design! What’s unclear, though,is the relation between the living room and the pool. Is this a movable screen?

    Reply
  10. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    It’s a good job!
    I’m a fan of white and all shades of gray.
    But it seems to me that what makes me the most confusion is to be so perfect. There is nothing out of place … Not a leaf on the floor! Not a horrible piece of decoration chosen by the owners! … Looks like a render. (As most of their work displayed on their website.)
    This makes the space poetic and ethereal, but at the same time inhuman, perhaps because of that are so many issues that are raised due to white.

    Reply
  11. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    Love its simplicity. Effective usage of natural light and beautiful play of shade and shadow in the corridors. I like the way the building is designed in order to allow the least amount of heat to enter the building.

    Reply
  12. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    You would probably need to wear sunglasses during the day to move around this house.

    Project is really good though and with a nice interior designer touch it could be more interesting

    Reply

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