This house and studio for a painter, is situated on the edge of a low-density housing development, bordering a large extension of pinewood.
Authors: Sara Antunes, Mário Ferreira, Arquitectos
web: www.samf.pt
Location: Verdizela, Portugal
Project:1999-2003
Total Area: 252m2
Construction: 2005
Photography: ©Thorsten Humpel
The project chooses to invite this landscape into the house, opening generous views to the south, and the spaces created within, whilst sheltering itself from the surrounding urban situation, in a reinterpretation of local vernacular typologies.
The street facade is a wall, public and anonymous, that hides and unites two separate volumes: the studio and the house, separated by a long, semi-covered patio, which is unsuspected by the passer-by.
Behind this scenery, the house creates places for comfort and freedom, in a continuous dialogue between inside and outside.
The house is extremely compact, fitting-out all the requested facilities within a limited floor area; in opposition to the studio, which occupies approximately the same volume as the house, in a single, double-height space, with varying ceiling heights.
These steps on the roof create north-facing clerestory windows, with constant diffuse light, essential for painting. The rest of the openings let light and colour play throughout the day.
