A small house refuses to be banal. Three levels play slightly different geometrical games. Its spaces are assembled out of small gestures: sloping ceilings, curved and staggered walls, episodic double heights, lofty chimneys. The ground floor accommodates the main living space open to the garden, concealing the circulation and secondary spaces behind a subtle wall. The middle level is organized around a central hallway from which a spiral staircase takes one to the attic. The house is a collection of episodes and compelling fragments.

While the spaces on three levels are different, colours and coats of paint bring the project together. The house presents an abundance of textures and patterns. White and dark blue stripes cover window shutters, kitchens, and multiple cabinets with their handles slightly exaggerated. A dotted carpet of wooden floor is repeated on every level, serving as another unifying element. And each door has a cut-out of a dark green circle painted on it.

The two facades contradict one another: one is ordered, heavy and charming; the other indulges in absurdity, lightness, and playful whimsy. The street side is a grid of windows embellished with a rich marble cornice. The back side takes on the form of a glass wall intercepted by a blue column and a sprinkling of marble elements. Slender striped chimneys rise high above the sloped roof. Mirrors in the rousseau-like back garden reflect fragments of the back facade and the interior behind it, splitting and multiplying the image of a peculiar house.

Team:
Architect: fala 
Design team: Filipe Magalhães, Ana Luisa Soares, Ahmed Belkhodja, Lera Samovich, Ana Lima, Joana Sendas, João Carlos Lopes
Project team: Paulo Sousa (Engineering), MP+PF (Engineering), João Magalhães (Landscape), OGC (Contractor)
Photography: Francisco Ascensão, Giulietta Margot, Francisco Nogueira, Ivo Tavares, Lera Samovich, Fala