House in Águeda

The House in Águeda is inserted in a rural area which is characterised by a low-density housing area. The irregularity of the terrain conditioned the project regarding to its volume and program. Taking into account the altimetric and planimetric features of the terrain, including its pronounced slope, the projects re-caracterize the terrain, and establish a platform for the house implementation. Two different acesses were constructed: one for the cars and another for the pedestrians, these being the link between the entrance to the terrain and to the house. Inside, it was decided to distribute radically the floors by function. Therefore, the service and social areas (such as, WC, office, kitchen, dining/living room) are located at the entrance level (level 0). At this floor it was created different gaps / apertures to promote some shading (at living/dining room) and rain protection areas (outdoor lobby). The private area of the house, is located at 1st level, and accommodates the bedrooms and sanitary facilities. At this floor there are also some gaps / apertures, working as exterior platforms (terraces) to support the bedrooms and creating some private zones in terms of exposure to the exterior. These gaps / apertures / terraces allowed the dissimulation of the initial shape of the house, which was rectangular, making it an organic volume. Level 0 is directly connected to the lower level of the terrain, and level 1 is connected with the higher level of the terrain. Such exercise was sought to dissimulate the service areas, removing its visual importance and locating these areas at the back side of the house, being “buried” on the terrain.