House in Aldeia da Serra

The site’s topography has a 20% slope, which means exactly 8 m difference between lowest and highest points. A 16 m square-shaped house was spotted in a single store above the inclined topography. In such a way that it results in two equal additional useful spaces: under and over it, like a yard in the shadow and another one in the sun, places to stay outdoor either in a rainy or a sunny day. Due to the slope, from any of the three levels we can always reach the ground at the same level, even on the roof we can cross a bridge and find the ground level again.

The house structure rests on four columns. The two waffles slabs — 50 cm high including all the beams that stand each 90 cm — were made by casting premixed concrete on plastic mold. Although the structure construction has been done on spot, its process is very industrialized. The house’s roof has a 20 cm depth pool as a reflecting pool. The water was poured when the slab had just been cast avoiding cracks due to the heating during the cure process. Also by keeping the water we also avoid cricks from sudden variation of temperature. By this way the concrete become impermeable by itself, it means free from membrane and thermal insulation.

The external walls are made in concrete and they have only 5 cm of thickness. Then, to improve its thermal performance we had to protect them with a second layer, made with pre-cast panels out of pressed wood and cement. The side windows were made with tempered glass without frameworks, they are like a guillotine balanced with a counterweight hidden between the panel and the wall of concrete.

The natural shape of this place was perfectly preserved when we arrived there, the difference in level between the lower and the higher point is exactly 8m. The house that we made is like a flat square inserted into a larger square 16m wide. However, this square was situated in such a way over the ground that it results in one space beneath and one space above. They are like a yard in the shadow and another in the sun, places to stay outside the house on a rainy or sunny day. All of the three levels remain ground, and even when we are on the roof we can cross a bridge and find the ground level again.

The structure of this house rests on four columns. The two slabs are 50cm high and combine with standing beams (90cm) that together form the waffle slab. They were made by casting premixed concrete on plastic forms. Although the construction of this structure was done on site, its process is still very industrialized.

The roof of this house has a pool of water 20cm in depth with fish, etc. The moment we finished the casting of the slab, we filled it with water and will keep it there forever. It is a very good solution to thermal comfort and is also very economical because it dispenses the need for an impermeable membrane.

The external walls are made of concrete and they are too thin, with 5cm of thickness, so to improve their performance we protected them with a second layer of wall composed of precast panels made of pressed wood and cement.

The side windows are made of tempered glass without framework, they are like a guillotine balanced with a counterweight hidden between the panel and the wall of concrete. 

Material Used :

Reinforced concrete in loco