The commission was clear: to design a singular dwelling, a future house and a true home.
The plot itself, however, presented as an ordinary urban lot, regular and flat, without distinguishing features, facing a car-friendly street and set within a hybrid urban landscape, seemingly disordered and shifting depending on one’s point of view.Within this context, the act of designing proved demanding. The main challenge was to transform a place without identity into the central reference of everyday life for those who inhabit it, turning an undifferentiated urban plot into the one place one truly wants to live.
Establishing clear premises was essential. The decision was made to develop the house entirely at ground level, spreading the living spaces across the site. Care was taken to shield the spaces from the immediate surroundings, ensuring privacy, while strengthening the relationship between the interior of the house and its private outdoor space. The architectural image adopts a contemporary language, combined with the durability and permanence of the materials. Circulation and use were organized in a rational manner, without compromising visual and spatial continuity. The construction was conceived as a coherent whole, while also valuing the identity of its individual parts, through volumetric fragmentation and by giving distinct expression to spaces for cooking, living, and resting.
The house unfolds longitudinally along the plot, in a clear sequence of functions and lived experiences, organized according to daily life. These spaces connect through continuous, open paths, reinforcing a way of living that is both personal and singular.
The building closes itself to the north, opening and revealing itself on the opposite side, in a deliberate dialogue between inside and outside. Terraces and the swimming pool integrate naturally into the house, acting as extensions of the interior and enhancing both visual and functional permeability.
The surrounding urban fabric is not directly exposed, but subtly perceived, reminding us that the house belongs to a broader context and does not exist in isolation. It acknowledges the place where it stands and establishes a balanced relationship with it, without losing its ability to create its own identity. This may well be its greatest quality: not to deny its surroundings, but to transform them, granting singularity and architectural and spatial quality to a previously indifferent site.
The result is a unique place, designed to be lived in, visited, and appreciated.
Could it have been different? Perhaps! But it is certain that, as it is, it feels right. And the place has never been so rich or so singular!
May it endure!
Team:
Architecture Office: Ricardo Azevedo Arquitecto
Main Architect, Light Design, Visual identity, Illustrations: Ricardo Azevedo Arquitecto
Interior Design: AAR Déco
Architectural photographer: Ivo Tavares Studio
Materials Used:
Arte Internacional
Asm Taps
A-emotional light
Tom Dixon
Dedar
Top Marmi
