The house is located on a plot of land with two narrow fronts, one at the upper level – the street, and the other towards the lower interior of the block. The width of less than 6 meters conditioned the internal organization.
Studio Name: RVdM Arquitectos
Author: Ricardo Vieira de Melo
Design Team: Ricardo Senos, Damião Santos, Ânia Abrantes, Nuno Marques
Area: 269m²
Year: 2009-2012
Location: Avenida Bela Vista, Costa Nova – Ílhavo, Portugal
Consultants: MN Engenheiros, Lda
Photography Credits: José Campos, Ricardo Vieira de Melo
The length, more than 20 meters, opened up possibilities. With these two characteristics, the vertical circulation was placed in the center, freeing the elevations and dividing the program. The house was arranged axially.
For the three floors of the house, it was decided to separate them by two nuclear programs – the two on the top constitute the heart of it, with a living room and kitchen and the master bedroom on the lower floor and 3 other bedrooms on the upper floor. In the entrance floor is the garage and a kind of a flat for visits, with living room, bedroom on the same floors with access to the patio.
The main room is divided in three spaces taking advantage of the double height that it shares with the top floor. The two fronts of the house are a reference to the typical wooden houses of the region, using shutters to give more privacy to the rooms and offering balconies that expand the outdoor spaces and benefit from views of the sea or the estuary.
