Article source: Miguel Marcelino Arquitecto
The plot is located in the middle of a “montado” landscape, being the best views to the north with a lake and the skyline punctuated by cork oak trees. The house is organized in a compact volume of two floors, complemented by three courtyards all different in size and features. A first large courtyard, enclosed, intimate, situates on the south side, embracing a big existing cork oak. Next to the back entrance there is another smaller patio, for service. The third courtyard works as a key element in the relationship between home and the north side – it’s a slim space with a large horizontal opening that frames the landscape – it has an atmosphere of a “inner space outdoors”, the light is soft, by reflection on the outer wall that receives direct sunlight. This vertical courtyard communicates with a staircase that leads to an open terrace, the last element of the sequence of spaces, patios and atmospheres that go from more introspective and private to more open and outside.
- Architects: Miguel Marcelino Arquitecto
- Project: Three Courtyards House
- Location: Vila Nova de Santo Estêvão, Benavente, Portugal
- Architecture: Miguel Marcelino
- Collaboration: Pedro Dourado
- Structural and Plumbing Engineering: Pedro Monteiro
- Electrical Engineering: Orlando Sousa
- Landscape Design: Ana Amaro
- Phases: 2009-2010 (project), 2010-2012 (construction)
- General Contractor: Campelo & Campelo
- Gross Floor Area: 282m2
- Gross Volume: 854m3
- Building Footprint: 173m2
- Site Area: 2175m2
- Energy Efficiency Class: A+
- Client: Private client
- Photographs: FG+SG | Fernando Guerra