HOUSE OVER THE HILLS
CONTEXT
The House Over The Hills is a single-family dwelling built in the Serras do Porto.
It is a modular construction, made in wood, facing southwest and seeking to emulate the mountains that are visible in the distance, through a game of geometrical composition involving identical volumes with inclined planes that slope in different directions.
The architectural programme, which was initially established in a three bedroom house comprised of five modules, also foresees three more independent modules, with direct access from the exterior - reserved for two autonomous bedrooms and a multipurpose room -, aiming for programmatic flexibility over time and also for touristic opportunities.
STRATEGY
The rigorous geometry, that rules the design of the floor plan as well of the elevations of the building, gives rise to distinct interior spatialities - allowing different volumetric combinations and the exploration of distinct materialities - that establish different relationships with the surrounding context - variations on the same, that allow the architectural exercise to be similar without ever repeating itself.
The play of back and forth between the modular volumes is thereby the simultaneous opportunity for: the creation of exterior spaces - or patios – that are more closely related to the different adjoining interior spaces; as well as for the introduction of new possibilities in the exploration of internal spatial relationships, namely through the sloping ceilings.
EXPERIENCE
From the outside, the altimetric level at which the house is implemented is the level that guarantees the desired framing of the view of the landscape and, at the same time, the level that allows the roof to be visible from the path that gives access to the house – thus favouring the integration of the house's volumetry within the surrounding landscape and showcasing multiple possible arrangements between the natural landscape and the ‘built’scape.
Inside, openings to the outside are designed at different heights and in different directions, seeking to establish varied relationships with the outside context. These make possible, at different times of the day, the sunlight to sweep over the interior spaces, projecting the shadow of the surrounding trees onto the indoor surfaces of the house and thereby producing live paintings of varying brightness.
SUSTAINABILITY
In pursuit of enhanced thermal efficiency, the dwelling takes advantage of direct solar gain (with openings oriented to the south), combined with natural shading elements—deciduous plant species—supplemented by mechanical means (external shading awnings). At the same time, the house rests on a concrete slab, aiming to exploit the material relationship with the ground (inertia), while also ensuring an underground but ventilated air cavity to provide optimal thermal comfort in a lightweight construction with a wooden frame and panel structure.
The design of the building and its elevations places particular emphasis on passive climate control systems, incorporating both cross-ventilation (openings on opposite facades) and induced ventilation (openings at different heights).
Additionally, the ventilated façade, insulation (approximately 10 cm in the walls and 20 cm in the roof), and double-glazed windows contribute to reducing energy consumption for heating or cooling the house, even though the possibility of artificial climate control is also accounted for with a hydraulic underfloor heating system, supported by a heat pump and photovoltaic panels.
In terms of comfort and sustainability solutions, it is important to highlight that natural lighting has been incorporated into all rooms.
Finally, as the project also focuses on the creation of self-sustaining gardens, rainwater harvesting for irrigation tanks has been implemented, minimising unnecessary resource consumption.
