Architects:Ana de Bastos

Photographs :Alexander Bogorodskiy

Engineering : António Ferreira de Bastos, Engenharia Civil

Builders : Donzifeira Construções e JMS Leite

Country : Portugal

Casa dos Santos is located on a region characterized by its elevation with views over the hill of São João da Madeira and the Serra da Freita. The importance of the landscape facing east was the only premise placed by the client, who wanted to make it possible to enjoy this view from all the interior compartments of the house.

The location is naturally suggested by the topography of the land and the house is born in the middle, avoiding the parallelism of its boundaries, seeking alignment with the landscape and contour lines and respecting the existing trees, in order to embrace the construction with the surrounding nature , creating an intimate relationship with the place.

The volume of the house is understood by its extension, twenty-six meters in length and a sloping roof tilting towards the patio. The ground house is intercepted by a flat roof volume that constitutes the garage and the extended plane cover, which protects the main entrance of the house.

The sloping roof that leans over the patio grows into an extended reinforced concrete cover allowing the transition between the interior spaces and the outdoor patio, which is at the same time a large solarium and a natural extension from the interior spaces where the landscape is seen, behind a glass skin.

Externally, to the east, two continuous volumes reveal a duality between the opaque block – where the garage is – and the transparent extension of the living room, kitchen and bedrooms. To the west, with thirty-five meters in length, the openings were minimized and used as fixed windows, to intensify and punctuate the integration between exterior and interior letting natural light into circulation spaces. This particular relation between solids and voids on the facade ends up into excellent thermal performance, with a high level of energy conservation.

The use of materials such as wood and clay tile brings character to the house, also giving the sensation of a welcoming place. The option for light tones on the floor and the polished travertine accents on the interior walls from the living room and kitchen, replicate the mirror effect from landscape into certain interior perspectives. The national pine used in the interior carpentry creates a cozy and warm feeling atmosphere in the rooms. The landscape that is exposed through the glass walls creates, day after day, natural scenarios that transport the inhabitants to contemplation and meditation.

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