Residence in Colares / Frederico Valsassina Arquitectos

Curated by Pedro Vada

Architects: Frederico Valsassina Arquitectos
Area: 333 m²
Year: 2013
Manufacturers: panoramah!®

Text description provided by the architects. In the dense pine forest next to Praia das Maçãs (Apple Beach) the house hovers over the landscape.
We opt for a single volume with two distinct faces: a more closed one and another more exuberant and exposed. It marks the entrance in the blind elevation by a ramp that gently transports us to the interior of the house that in an unexpected way merges with the outside. The theme of being indoor and out, both inside and outside, is intrinsic in the atmosphere intended for a seasonal dwelling like this: all the spaces of the house have autonomous access from the outside. Thus, all the environments set up a strong relation with the pinewood, the patio arises from this will and serves as a hinge between social and private area. In the room the space continuity is greater: two large planes of glass that run one over the other and open alternately to the porch. The few materials of the house create a unique atmosphere, the pavement inside and outside is the same - cement stroked - ensuring the unification of spaces.

The exterior porch due to its elevation relative to the terrain appears as a porch above the pine forest. If the house on one side is born from the land, on the other due to the natural topography delicately levitates on it. This solution appears in a way as a strategy of environmental comfort, the Sintra mountain range has a very high humidity level, with this solution decreases the transfer of moisture from the soil to the house.

The program is simple and was thought to the place where it is, with the existing climate. In this way is intended the greater absorption of sunlight: Rooms facing south, an office that appears as a place of collective activities and open for passage, room to the west and kitchen to the north. The large glazed windows allow the entrance of natural light in much of the day and therefore the heating of the space.

Minimizing the effects on the natural landscape of the place, the pine forest was left as it was before this existence: the house is a platform that floats on the sand terrain.