The project Casas do Capitão was triggered by the will to regenerate a city plot located on Guimarães’ historical center edge. This small parcel, as most of the neighboring ones, was defined by a succession of constructions that, over the years, occupied all the available space.
The intervention aimed to adapt this urban space to new ways of life, relieving it from the more precarious buildings and valuing the existing elements, such as the large XIX century building. This main building was the starting point and the matrix for the two new constructions that defined the plot: an extension at the ground level and a new commercial building on the north side.
What is vernacularism, but the knowledge transmitted in time and translated into space? In the constructive case, taking advantage of the materials available in the area and adapting them to the architecture that responds to the needs of the users.
Casa Cóndor responds to the architectural program of receiving, hosting, cooking and living. The house is located in one of the valleys of Loja, Ecuador (Malacatos) with a warm climate and periods of intense rain. It is implanted on a family lot of 0.2 hectares, where there was a precarious house made of adobe, wood, tile and tejuelo floors. We decided to “recycle” it, dismantling it adobe by adobe and tile by tile. The rural environment is marked by tapia, bahareque and adobe houses. The bricks are manufactured in the town of Malacatos, where the local workforce still has the knowledge to build with these traditional systems. We opted for a structure of clay and wood, masonry of adobe, bahareque, reed, brick (in humid areas) and a tile roof, using recycled materials from the old house. The doorways and terraces predominate in Casa Cóndor, since being outdoors and enjoying the views are fundamental requirements of the program proposed by the family.
The house of Enrichetta, Marc and Eva; a renovation project of a flat in the Poblesec district in Barcelona.
A penthouse with a magnificent panoramic view of the whole city.
The first sources of inspiration for the conversion of this flat were the Poblesec neighbourhood with its mixture of cultures, colours and styles and the great personality of its new inhabitants: a young couple and their daughter, born right in the middle of the renovation work.
This project has completely modified the look and use of this two story penthouse through a limited amount of changes.
The main goal has been to open up the interior space toward the outdoor surrounding terrace.
In order to do so, the night and day areas have been sharply divided following the two floors: living room, kitchen, dining room and guest bathroom on the lower level, two bedrooms and two bathrooms on the upper level.
Located on the Atlantic coast, the topless house replaces a dilapidated veranda formerly adjoining the main vacation home. A small architectural gem, it offers its users multiple spatial configurations. Equipped with a removable roof, it reveals itself letting in the first rays of sunshine of the day. The roof overhang, defying the laws of gravity, acts as a cap extending the living space.
The sliding bays equipped with the “turnable corner vitrocsa” system, can be manipulated and stored to leave the circulation free towards the raised terrace in polished concrete. The construction is then undressed of all its accessories.
Villa U is a single-family house located in the residential area of Gräfelfing outside Munich.
The floor plan is triangular, with the long side turned away from the street towards the garden and facing directly south. The remaining two sides, including the entrance one, follow the geometry of the plot. The southern, widest façade is cut open towards the spacious garden with swimming pool.
The building is conceived as a solid block, with three large openings and a double height space carved out within the long southern side.
Italian design is synonymous with quality and… sustainability. It is demonstrated by the residential project of Sovereign House located in an exclusive Houston neighborhood on a plot of 7000 square meters, that has been designed by the green architect and designer Nicola De Pellegrini of Italian Studio Anidride Design located in Venice. The structure, on three floors, is generated by the intersection of simple and pure volumes that generate an articulated architecture with a contemporary design and a unique character.
This house in a quiet residential neighborhood of central Tokyo was built for a couple who had long lived on the property but wanted to rebuild as they entered a new phase of life after their three children left home. The simple exterior design comprised of two massive volumes piled on top of each other takes advantage of the corner lot, with a façade of exposed concrete imprinted with cedar formwork. Outward-facing windows are limited to horizontal slits to preserve privacy and increase security.
Dalal House is built on a plot area of 1,000 sq. mt. with 20m street frontage and 50m depth.
The house is designed with an idea of creating a family living domain at the rear with all the key family areas facing the backyard in the east. The building uses natural brick and concrete as the main external finish with minimal use of plastered surfaces in functional areas. The house is spatially organized on three levels with five bedrooms, formal living, family living and dining areas, private gym and a party lounge with a large veranda facing the backyard.
San Ignacio is a renovation and addition project of a house located in the state of Nayarit in Mexico. The client’s requirement was to renovate the existing building that harbored the rooms, which were in very poor conditions, and the construction of two new volumes, one that could function as a flexible space for photo shoots and different creative expressions, and the second as an outdoor living space that would allow a direct relationship with the pool.
Our proposal consisted of two main actions: the alteration of the existing house and the configuration of the central courtyard with the construction of the two new volumes.