a house made of a few lines, as fragile as a tent.
The geometry of a narrow house is settled within a few lines. The intervention happens both in plan projection and in section. Curved walls are intersected with sinuous ceiling resulting in a space that is not static. In the evening, multiple folds and creases create a bizarre game of light and shadow.
Open to the back garden, the living room unfolds between the two surfaces. Below, is a turquoise carpet of ceramic tiles, while above, a light green tent of vigorous ceiling—all concealed beneath a slender metal roof.
On the street front, the façade maintains an unassuming presence on the street. It looks like its neighbours but it also does not. It presents itself as a closed wall with a blue door and a small window. In contrast, the open back façade is an overlay of elements sitting within the whimsical garden: a large opening, accompanied by a concrete beam, a free standing blue column and a bright yellow shutter. Mirrors conceal chimneys and unwanted thicknesses, rendering the roof paper thin. Bold stripes of black marble frame both elevations.
The project presents a possibility for a multifarious house within a limited condition. The house is staged with a minimum set of elements—some are necessary, some are not—and a precise palette of materials. A concise volume is a disguise for a complex spectacle of its interior spaces.
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Project title: house within a few lines
Client: private
Location: Porto, Portugal
Design: 2019
Completion: 2022
Architect: fala
Design team: Filipe Magalhães, Ana Luisa Soares, Ahmed Belkhodja, Lera Samovich, Ana Lima, Joana Sendas, Anna Murisasco, Carina Pannatier
Project team: pomo (landscape), Maxrenova (contractor)
Site area: 90m2
Gross floor area: 50m2
