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HOUSES
Status
Client
-
DESIGN TEAM
Carvalho Araújo
Joel Moniz
Ana Vilar
Francisco Vacas
Hugo Melo
Pedro Mendes
Ricardo Tojal
Sandra Ferreira
HOUSES
Status
Client
-
DESIGN TEAM
Carvalho Araújo
Joel Moniz
Ana Vilar
Francisco Vacas
Hugo Melo
Pedro Mendes
Ricardo Tojal
Sandra Ferreira
S House is located in a typical block from the historic center of Braga (Portugal), which has conditioned the intervention in terms of volume and facade treatment, but also in the material’s choice. The house consists of three floors and a small attic with a set of accesses that provide the connection between the common areas of different levels. With a single-family typology, the house was intended to a multipurpose use: different spaces for different people. The stairwell and the elevator occupy the exposed concrete block, which assumes an important role in the intervention, creating a structural and functional solution and safeguarding, at the same time, any accessibility issues for people with disabilities. As a result: a tension between the delicate perimeter of the existing wall (with its high windows and cared carpentry) and the central block in concrete, raw and imposing. The high ceiling contributed to this tension, giving us the feeling of being in a space that apparently shrinks. On the posterior facade, a break in the continuity of the block allowed the arising of a courtyard, revealing from the outside the intervention strategy on the inside. The concrete volume was exposed and deformed, so he could fill that space and support a small office on the top floor, overlooking the courtyard and the pool on the first floor balcony.