Portugal-based Rui Vieira Oliveira Arquitecto has completed the renovation of a private residence in Taíde village of Portugal, which creates a poetic effect with its smoothly-shifted and multifaceted volume placed atop an ancient grape mill.

Named Taíde House, the renovation of this modern house is carefully designed to adapt to the low-scale houses in existing neighbourhood and follow the traces of the past.

Covering a total of 200-square-metre area, the all-white coloured upper volume is elegantly placed on ancient granite walls in the ground floor which serves as base for the whole proposal. 

Following the demands of the client carefully, the architect said: "originally the client had showed the will to make something simple, something "easy" to enjoy."

"The idea was a simplehouse in which one could, for example, conceal the kitchen, thus occupying a minimal amount of space. The speech wasshort, simple, but nevertheless interesting."

The two-story house includes a social area with the hidden kitchen, guest bathroom, office and a double ceiling living room on the ground floor. The architect designs the stairwell which gives access to the upper floor with two bedrooms.

Creating a strong form in an historic city fabric, the house interacts with its surroundings in a friendly way and even if the architect would assume something new in his concept, the overall volume of the house doesn't disrupt completely past, as smooth transition is achieved between these different living modules.

"We felt that we could create something dynamic without hurting thesurrounding environment, from this moment forward the look for stimuli was inevitable," said Rui Vieira Oliveira Arquitecto. 

"Looking around, to asometimes marked terrain, we understand that the surroundings work as an amphitheater in which the gaze of theneighbors, inhabitants of those unique shaped, inclined roof houses, is very proximate. Over there streets are narrowbackyards are almost public and every word is listened. The scale of the house was a concern."

The architect's early sketches show that the roof emerges and assumes itself as the structuring element for the whole project. It allowed to organize and manage dynamic spaces in a rather simple square plant interior but also allowed the compartmentalisation in the exterior creating protected areas for leisure and contemplation and also work areas. 

"It's possible to live this element through the exterior and feel it in the interior and at the same time to participate in the landscape," added the architect.

"Everything else is assumed as new and this white object placed on the ancient granite walls comes to life and draws itself almost automatically either it's because it seeks privacy or just to fulfill the legal boundaries."

The studio used the usual pilar-beam for the structure to obtain a good thermal performance. So, the roof of the house was coated by white colored slabs. The architects used the exterior thermal insulation system ETICS in the walls.

Ground floor plan

First floor plan

Section-A

Section-B

Section-C

North elevation

South elevation

Project facts

Location: Taíde, Póvoa de Lanhoso, Portugal

Firm: Rui Vieira Oliveira | Arquitecto

Design team: Rui Vieira Oliveira, Vasco Manuel Fernandes

Project: 2008

Construction: 2015

Area: 200m2

All images © Fernando Guerra FG + SG  

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