C R I S T O h o u s e
Project: Single family house
Author: José Carlos Nunes de Oliveira, Arq. and Paulo Costa, Arq.
Collaborators; Rui Cardoso, Arq; Atsushi Ueno, Arq; Jorge Vieira, arq.
Consultants: Carla Sofia Gonçalves Silva, Eng. - GEPEC; Carla Sofia Gonçalves Silva, Eng. - GEPEC; Manuel Queiroz Rodrigues Cruz, Eng. - GEPEC; Carla Sofia Gonçalves Silva, Eng. – GEPEC
Localization: Trofa
Area: 477,19 sqm
Year:1998-2006
The request was to conceive an economic house for a young couple, that should ensure a living room/dining room, a kitchen, two single bedrooms, and an adjacent office served by a common bathroom and a double bedroom. In the basement, a garage and storage.
The context where the terrain is set, is distinguished by narrow and winding road paths, for small spots of construction, as well as the presence of large trees masses and many agricultural lots.
Therefore an urbanistically delicate zone, of agricultural characteristics, and a rather small plot (526 m²). The north and west is surrounded by agricultural lands and the east and the south by two public paths. Soon became clear the need to release land for expanding the house to the exterior, submitting the house to the minimum of occupation of the plot and to the mandatory distance of 7 meters to the axle of the road.
The house is adjusted to the distant opposite north / east of the site, closing the precarious urbanity of it, and exploring the maximum height allowed by PDM with adjoining border lands (4 meters), grows in volume on inward of the lot, towards the sun and the scenery.
The shape grows in volume following the topography and warping inwards while opening towards the sun and the landscape. The gradual form of the volume is the immediate expression of the internal organization of the house, establishing a promenade from the lowest level - the street in to the highest and intimate point of the house, the studio.
In the ground floor center plan is a flight of stairs to the top lighted by a large skylight that leads to the upper floor while cutting the house in two separating the double room from the other rooms, the common bathroom and studio.
