House 1 in Penafiel – Building Information

Project: House 1 in Penafiel
Location: Penafiel, Portugal
Date: 2005 (in construction), to complete May/Jun 2009
Client: Private
Architecture: Cláudio Vilarinho (except some details and materials – client responsibility)
Engineering: Apótema – Gabinete de Projectos Eléctricos, Rita & Gás, Lda. + Futureng, Lda. + Objecto, Engenharia e Construção Lda.
Builder: Objecto, Engenharia e Construção Lda. + Others

Ideas before construction:
The idea: a white volume (28x10m) that rests on a continuous grass carpet.
The second idea: the house has 6 façades.
When in a highest stage we are descending the existing path, we see a volume that comes down and accompanies us; suddenly this volume leans up and projects itself to the valley.
The parking is located below the house (standing 10m in the air), the floor is made out of cement slabs that enables the circulation of a car while the grass grows.
The access to the main entrance of the house it’s done through a “negative in the centre of the body” (a patio that contains a small tree).

Besides this opening in the roof, it has other four; we explore ways of air circulation, shades, contemplation; we want to enable different atmospheres.
The program is the conventional one for a house with four bedrooms.
In the elaboration of the project we had the need to orient the openings for the sights towards the horizon, on the other hand those same openings are predominantly oriented to West and South, leaving the East façade completely closed.
The intention of the matter:
1- a skin, a body;
2- the material, white, with a subtle texture:
a. on the walls of the façade,
b. on the exterior ceilings,
c. on the balconies floors,
d. on the patios floors,
e. and on the roof.
We wanted the sealing of the house’s terrain to be permeable (wooden slats 6x6cm).
The construction system is made out of Light Steel Frame.