We are beyond a plot with 300sqm of surface at 205 meters above sea level, on the southern slope of the Goldra Valley, located in barrocal area in the central Algarve.
The project strategy consists to define the house in a compact volume, which turns the back to the built environment and opens in two moments only: to north into a inner courtyard and to south to the pool terrace and to the valley.
The plasticity and volume is the result of three fundamental aspects: the surroundings buildings; the size, slope and orientation of the plot; and finally the program proposed by the client. One of the important aspects of the project was to guarantee the three floors were never perceptible from the outside, looking for a better fit in the plot and consequently in the surrounding landscape.
On the ground floor the living room and kitchen assume the center of the house, in relation with the outside space and with the double height of the mezzanine. The west-facing rooms are accessed by a double-height corridor that reveals the mezzanine and bedroom windows and the rooftop skylight. The articulation between the three floors is guaranteed by a spiral staircase assumed as the core element in every daily use of the house.
To the north side, the distended sheet metal facade creates a filter in the house’s relationship with the access road and allows to create a views space protected to define a patio north of the living room. To the south the big openings show up in search of the necessary intimacy and the field depth relationship that the valley allows.
On the pool terrace a covered space is defined by the building which provides shade and the necessary surface to support the pool activities. The perforated metal shutters painted in dark green ensures the house plinth and the color dialogue with the greens of the surrounding landscape.
