House in São Mamede

ARCHITECT /DESIGNER

António Aires Mateus
Francisco Aires Mateus

LOCATION

Lisboa, Portugal

DATE

2006

DESCRIPTION

A succession of spaces of daily function occupied the lower floor of an 18th century building on the slope of the castle. The heritage existed, illustrating a time and an identity clouded by prolonged degradation.

The housing program elected spatial values, designed geometry tunings, precision in the relationship with the outer spans. The garden enhanced the apprehension of the depth of the view over the downtown roofs and the river. A pre-existing addition was remade as a concentration of the most private functions.

The secular spaces were freed to incorporate more expressive values. The unexpected discovery of a cistern crosses the horizontal depth and relates with the sky, the most protected space of the house.

Other Projects